


Post Mortem

by Vee



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fans & Fandom, Eventual Smut, Everyone is Messy and Posting, LiveJournal, M/M, Online Dating, Sassy Will Graham, Slow Build, Social Media, Story within a Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:26:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 29,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25488457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vee/pseuds/Vee
Summary: Sometime in 2003, Will left the Faublood Instance fandom, and he's kept a low profile since then. His friends don't begrudge him this, as they continue moderating the fanfiction archives and Livejournal communities that make up the small but passionate fandom. One day, several months later, Jack reaches out to Will in hopes that he'll return to his post as a beta reader. Not much has changed around the old haunts - the same rumors of a movie adaptation are making the rounds, and Alana's fics are still everyone's favorites.There is, however, one new name. As Will gets his fandom footing back, he befriends recent BNF Hannibal - and becomes convinced that he is, in fact, the puppet-master behind a reign of chaos in their little corner of the internet. No one believes him, though, and in his efforts to learn more, Will becomes closer to Hannibal than he ever intended.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 54
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory "this is my first fic in this fandom" announcement. Hi, what's up. I recently cleaned house on a lot of old fic, so my profile is pretty barren these days with the exception of The Obvious Ones, and it feels strange to so quickly be adding a new fic. But I never expected Hannibal to take over my mind like it has this summer. 
> 
> About this fic in particular: I was thinking about a Twitter post that was going around recently, like "if you wrote a fic about your niche interest, what would it be about?" I was forced to examine myself, look within, and realize that one of the things I know the most about is, in fact, fandom history and old school fandom drama (I’m old btw, for anyone who’s new here). This, combined with having recently watched [this wonderful video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_DZd78WLQY) detailing the MsScribe saga, has me obsessed with the idea of a dumbass fic where Hannigram are fanfic writers.
> 
> This is that fic. And it's going to be written almost entirely in the form of LJ posts, LJ comment sections, emails, and AIM logs. I've been going HAM with the custom CSS here. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Chilton ( **yhoriun_tree** ) wrote in **thefbi**  
@ 2004-08-27 12:34:23 pm UTC

 **Current mood:** energetic  
**Current music:** Nelly Furtado

**[Welcome] thefbi Community Welcome Post**

Greetings to all Faufen, old and new, and welcome to **thefbi**. This is the largest Livejournal community for fans of The Faublood Instance, and one of the web's premier resources for news and discussion about the books (and the upcoming (maybe) movie!) 

I'm Chilton, aka ******yhoriun_tree** , and I'm the community owner as well as head moderator around here. I made this post as a jumping-off point for new members, since our previous intro FAQ in the community profile was getting a bit clunky. It took long enough, didn't it - the community is over three years old at the time of this writing!

_**Please read the whole post before messaging the mods with questions!** _

### WHAT IS THE FAUBLOOD INSTANCE?

The Faublood Instance is a series of sci-fi/fantasy books written by K.T. Gerzog, released in four books between 1995 and 2001 (there are rumors of a new volume being released to further explore the world of the Beastmasters of Saramas, but this is unconfirmed). A mixture of medical drama, detective novel, and sci-fi adventure, the books follow the story of a group of doctors and scientists hired by the ChaoTech Company to enter their suspiciously advanced virtual reality entertainment platform in order to investigate what is behind a virus infecting not only the code, but the living and breathing people inside the game. If you haven't read the books (why are you here??) I'll say no more. Please go read them. We're a small fandom, but there's a reason we're so passionate!

### WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT FROM THIS COMMUNITY?

News, discussions, party posts, fanfic and fanart sharing, community plugs, and generally all things FBI related. We like to keep the community engaged and buzzing, and so we encourage everyone to participate!

### WHAT ARE THE RULES OF THE COMMUNITY?

We don't have any ridiculous rules, but please try to stay within these guidelines:  
\- Don't be a jerk. Trolls will be banned, and spammed with Elder Caldur porn… no, really, we know where to find some  
\- The books can be a little obtuse, and we know this. They're easy to make fun of. Please don't take things too seriously. We promote and encourage good-natured fun, so very little is sacred  
\- If your post has more than one picture/video/etc, please use lj-cuts! We want to keep our page clean and all posts readable  
\- No matter your opinion of certain characters, ships, or fan interpretations, please try to keep discussion civil and don't flame each other. We don't judge here (no matter what we said about Elder Caldur up there…)  
\- The mods take care of archiving new posts to Memories regularly, so try to keep each post to one topic (for instance: if you want to recommend a fanfic you really liked, but also discuss a certain scene in the book, make two separate posts so they can be adequately archived)  
\- Because RP is more of a fluid and immersive experience (which we endorse here!), we don't allow it in the community, but rather suggest to head to **the_rp_plexus** for all your FBI RP desires!

### DO I NEED TO MAKE AN INTRO POST WHEN I JOIN?

No need! We have party posts regularly where you can introduce yourself if you want. Otherwise, jump right in!

### WHO SHOULD I MESSAGE IF I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION OR CONCERN?

The mod squad:  
**yhoriun_tree** \- Chilton (head mod, Beastmaster expert, Arie/Echoppe shipper)  
**plexusest** \- Alana (co-mod, author of the Circuitous Dawn fanfic series)  
**courtlaaand** \- Jack (co-mod, webmaster of the OmniPlexus Archive, Tawnie devotee)

### WHERE DO I START?

Glad you asked! Here are some resources that will help you test the waters if you'd rather not dive in head-first:

INFORMATION POSTS

A Probably-Unnecessary but Nonetheless Exhaustively Researched Analysis of the Beastmasters of Saramas (1) (2) (3) by **yhoriun_tree**  
A three-part behemoth written by Chilton in cooperation with Gideon ( **xtwilight_faultx** ) about the history, mysticism, and everyday life of one of the most intriguing but underrepresented groups in the FBI series

Piecing Together the Timeline by **courtlaaand**  
"Hey," you might say when you're halfway through the third book, "none of this is making sense, and I can't figure out where I lost track." The timeline of FBI can be confusing as the series builds to the final book, what with all the alternate timelines and plexus crashes. Jack took it upon himself to de-mystify everything in a way so simple, anyone can understand it.

Medical Fact vs Embellishment vs Fiction in FBI by **antikythera**  
Hannibal ( **antikythera** ), who, like K.T. Gerzog, happens to have a degree or two in this stuff, breaks down the way medical practice is portrayed in FBI, and provides some indispensable resources for fanfic writers when approaching the subject

This is Not My Beautiful Virtual House by **katzpyjamas**  
Even if you're not particular interested in the inner-workings of the virtual game world of FBI, I defy you to not be thoroughly entertained by Beverly's ( **katzpyjamas** ) fantastic post delving into how it all might work (alien tech or not)

DISCUSSION POSTS

So… that Ending (that Beginning?)  
The "missing footage" of Book Three  
Rigby in Book Four  
Aaron is Arie: Crackpot Theory or logical conclusion?  
Twilight Prayer Circle  
Do you think we'll get that Beastmasters book?  
Faublood Instance movie in development (hell)

FIC RECS 

The Circuitous Dawn series by Alana ( **plexusest** ) - gen, A/U, takes place between the events of Book Two and Book Three  
Chemical Bonds by Hannibal ( **antikythera** ) - Aaron/Pryor  
Carry the Zero by Jack ( **courtlaaand** ) - gen  
Talking at the Same Time by Alana ( **plexusest** ) - Echoppe/Tawnie  
The Canopy series by Chilton ( **yhoriun_tree** ) - gen, A/U, some Arie/Echoppe  
A Duty Unavoidable by Hannibal ( **antikythera** ) - Aaron/Pryor  
Of Provenance Unknown by Hannibal ( **antikythera** ) - gen  
Overwrite by Jack ( **courtlaaand** ) - Rigby/Courtland  
Color Me, Color You by Jimmy ( **jprice24** ) - Pryor/Courtland

OTHER COMMUNITIES

**faublood_art** \- Fanart  
**faufic** \- Fanfic  
**faub100d** \- Drabbles  
**fbicons** \- Icons  
**faubloodslash** \- Slash ships  
**faubloodfemslash** \- Femslash ships  
**the_rp_plexus** \- RP hub  
**beastmasters_fbi** \- Beastmasters RP  
**faublood_claims** \- Claims  
**faublood_stamp** \- Stamping Comm

* * *

From: Jack Crawford (webmaster@theomniplexus.com)  
Subject: Beta Reading for the OPA?  
Date: September 25, 2004 3:30:58 PM EDT  
To: wolftrapped55@hotmail.com

Hi Will! I know I haven't made contact in a while, but I wanted to know if you were still beta-reading at all. The fandom's actually been growing in the last year, and so has the archive (a lot, in fact). I want to keep offering the beta reader service, but most of the volunteers are stretched pretty thin as it is. What would I need to do for you to come back on board? If you even still like FBI. 

From: Will (wolftrapped55@hotmail.com)  
Subject: Re: Beta Reading for the OPA?  
Date: September 25, 2004 5:13:43 PM EDT  
To: Jack Crawford (webmaster@theomniplexus.com) 

Hey, long time no… talk. I guess. Yeah, I'm still a big fan. I hang around the archive, and I lurk on the LJ communities. I figure no one wants to hear what I have to say, though, so I mostly stay quiet (it takes a lot of effort, sometimes. Chilton's letting some people go unchecked and it's got me a little worried). I guess I could come back to help out, considering I read so much already. At the risk of sounding elitist, though, I'm not interested in wasting anyone's time, least of all my own. You know new authors hate it when I tear into their fics, and it takes a lot out of me to beta read just anything. So maybe I could be paired with established authors like you, Alana, and Jimmy (not Chilton, please - if he asks, I'm BUSY). 

From: Jack Crawford (webmaster@theomniplexus.com)  
Subject: Re: Beta Reading for the OPA?  
Date: September 25, 2004 6:04:09 PM EDT  
To: wolftrapped55@hotmail.com

I think we can manage that. Do you trust my judgment on which authors get the Will treatment?

Oh, and I really think you should speak up more in thefbi on LJ. It's a great community, and if your insights are anything like they were back when we had the ICQ server, you'll fit right in. Maybe not with everyone, but I think you underestimate how dark and moody the place can get. 

From: Will (wolftrapped55@hotmail.com)  
Subject: Re: Beta Reading for the OPA?  
Date: September 26, 2004 12:19:33 AM EDT  
To: Jack Crawford (webmaster@theomniplexus.com) 

:( I'm not that moody, come on. But okay, I will. And yeah, I trust you. You've got to understand if I decide to drop it at any point though, all right? 

From: Jack Crawford (webmaster@theomniplexus.com)  
Subject: Re: Beta Reading for the OPA?  
Date: September 26, 2004 12:24:21 AM EDT  
To: wolftrapped55@hotmail.com

Thank you!!! Happy to get the band back together, as it were. What's your AIM name these days? And are you still wolftrapped on LJ? 

From: Will (wolftrapped55@hotmail.com)  
Subject: Re: Beta Reading for the OPA?  
Date: September 26, 2004 12:45:15 AM EDT  
To: Jack Crawford (webmaster@theomniplexus.com) 

I remade a couple of months back, I'm panopuply now. I'll add you. I'm still WolfTrapped on AIM. At least that's the one you need to know. I'm going to bed, but I'll see you around thefbi.


	2. Chapter 2

Bev ( **katzpyjamas** ) wrote in **thefbi**  
@ 2004-09-26 at 10:04:38pm UTC

 **Current mood:** amused  
**Current music:** "The Reason" by Hoobastank

**What your ship says about you...**

I got off work earlier than I expected today, so I was (of course) re-reading some of my favorite fic, and that got me thinking: what does your FBI ship say about you? 

So I wrote this up. 

Disclaimer: this is only meant in fun!! No offense to any of you wonderful people (except you, **xtwilight_faultx** XD) Take it to the comments if you think differently - I'm all ears!

 **Courtland/Rigby** \- You enjoy the basics, like vanilla ice cream, a nice pair of khaki pants, and missionary sex.  
**Courtland/Pryor** \- You get fired up just seeing the word "sneered" in a fic.  
**Courtland/Aaron** \- You had a crush on your Chemistry professor. That''s okay.  
**Rigby/Tawnie** \- You believe in a woman's inalienable right to be pinned to the wall by another woman!  
**Rigby/Pryor** \- You believe that enemies can make the best lovers.  
**Aaron/Pryor** \- Are you okay? Seriously, is everything all right over there? You seem stressed.  
**Tawnie/Aaron** \- You believe the best relationships involve the words "yes, ma'am" on the regular.  
**Aaron/Arie** \- You lack basic reading comprehension skills.  
**Arie/Echoppe** \- You are innocent and beautiful and you deserve the world because you believe in the best things in life.  
**Tawnie/Echoppe** \- You just want Tawnie to be happy and relax for once!  
**Twilight/Spark** \- Won't someone please think of the children??? Someone other than you???  
**Parrish/Echoppe** \- (Paula_Abdul_-_Opposites_Attract.mp3)  
**Parrish/Adanas** \- You're exceptionally gifted at extrapolation AND projecting!  
**Parrish/Courtland** \- You appreciate the intense slash potential of dads united for a common goal.

* * *

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 10:32 pm UTC (link)  
  
_Aaron/Pryor - Are you okay? Seriously, is everything all right over there? You seem stressed._

I'm perfectly okay, Beverly, I assure you. :) 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-26 10:40 pm UTC (link)  
  
LOL!! I knew you'd be the first to comment when I wrote that bit. XD Seriously, though, I don't know how you do it with that ship. That's way too much baggage to work through for me. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 10:45 pm UTC (link)  
  
I like to keep things interesting, if not challenging. It makes for good writing (or at least, I like to imagine it does). 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-26 10:50 pm UTC (link)  
  
It does!!! So good, in fact, that I'll give you a cookie if you'll write a sequel to Of Provenance Unknown…….. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 10:58 pm UTC (link)  
  
That depends entirely on what type of cookie you're offering, my dear. A mere Oreo or Lorna Doone, then sadly I must decline. However, if you were to bake up something from scratch, I might be convinced... 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-26 11:01 pm UTC (link)  
  
A toffee-chip brown sugar cookie, then? Straight from my kitchen? 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 11:04 pm UTC (link)  
  
My defenses have been entirely compromised. It's a deal. 

* * *

  
**WolfTrapped:** Hey  
**WolfTrapped:** You around  
**Jackourtland:** Yeah  
**Jackourtland:** What's up?  
**WolfTrapped:** Who's antikythera  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm reading the comments on Beverly's latest post and he's just… being very familiar  
**Jackourtland:** Everything's okay. He joined the fandom after you went on your hiatus last year. He and Alana go way back. They were in Buffy fandom together back in the day, and she brought him over to FBI  
**WolfTrapped:** Okay.  
**WolfTrapped:** He just seems really fucking pretentious  
**Jackourtland:** He is  
**Jackourtland:** But he's also really nice. And super smart. He writes awesome fic, I can't believe you haven't read any of them.  
**WolfTrapped:** Wait.  
**WolfTrapped:** Holy shit I was so distracted by the wordiness that it didn't even register, he wrote Of Provenance Unknown. He's Damocles Ego on the OPA??? I haven't read any of his fic but I've definitely seen him charting on the front page for a while now.  
**Jackourtland:** LOL yeah :)  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh noooooo  
**Jackourtland:** Yeah he's getting the most hits of any author besides Alana right now.  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh noooo he seems so smarmy  
**Jackourtland:** I promise he's nice! That's a weird conversation to see as a first impression.  
**WolfTrapped:** OK I'm going to leave a comment on this post  
**Jackourtland:** Alana just got online too.  
**WolfTrapped:** Really? I don't see her online. What's her AIM?  
**Jackourtland:** Oh yeah, Gideon got hold of her old AIM so she remade in July. She's HiddenPlexus now, add her  
**WolfTrapped:** Has she mentioned me?  
**Jackourtland:** Yeah, she didn't want me to talk to you about doing this again. She thinks fandom is bad for you.  
**WolfTrapped:** oh  
**WolfTrapped:** okay  
**WolfTrapped:** Fandom is bad for everyone. I just commented.

* * *

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-26 11:11 pm UTC (link)  
  
*waves shyly* I'm glad I came back to the comm just in time to see a patented Beverly post. Great stuff. It's Will, by the way. I remade. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-26 11:12 pm UTC (link)  
  
OMGWTFBBQ WILL!?!?!? *GLOMPS* I MISSED YOOOOUUUUUU WELCOME BACK TO THE COMM BB!!! 

Okay I'm done yelling. OMG I love your new lj name. How are the pups? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-26 11:13 pm UTC (link)  
  
Thank you. Jack goaded me into actually talking on here, so I'm back. I also might be doing some beta reading again at OPA. 

The pups are good. There's more of them now, LOL. I'll post pics on my journal, I added you to my friends list. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-26 11:14 pm UTC (link)  
  
Ahhhh!! *eyes go wide, sparkly* YAY! *goes to look* 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 11:14 pm UTC (link)  
  
Hello, Will! It's a pleasure to meet you. I would say "it's always nice to welcome someone new to the fandom," but it seems you're dyed in the wool already. Just when I thought I knew all the old guard, you appear.

I also appreciate the fact that you, too, seem to have a Greek-influenced username. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-26 11:18 pm UTC (link)  
  
Hi. Yeah, I was here a while back as wolftrapped. I remade after some wank. 

Oh, the name, lol I kind of just chose a word that sounded good, which let me incorporate something about dogs. Wow, that sounds very lame when I type it out. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 11:19 pm UTC (link)  
  
On the contrary, it's good to see a username that shows one's personality. 

Mind if I ask whether Beverly's assessment above was accurate for you? Regarding taste in ships, that is.

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-26 11:20 pm UTC (link)  
  
Uhhhhh… I can't say. I'm not even sure I ship anything particularly. I just sort of read whatever. I like it all, if it's written well. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 11:23 pm UTC (link)  
  
A nondiscriminatory mindset is rare to see in fandom, which is usually based so entirely in personal preference. Quite refreshing. Who is your favorite character? Surely you aren't so devoid of bias as to not have one? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-26 11:35 pm UTC (link)  
  
Aaron, I suppose. Aaron and Echoppe. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 11:36 pm UTC (link)  
  
The Engineer and the Empath. An interesting combination! 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-26 11:39 pm UTC (link)  
  
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I ship them or anything. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 11:40 pm UTC (link)  
  
I didn't assume so, don't worry. Do you identify with either of them?

There was a post about this last week, and you missed out on the discussion then. I like to think I'm like Rigby, but I have to accept that I'm more of a Pryor. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-26 11:54 pm UTC (link)  
  
I certainly hope you're not too much like Pryor, that would be off-putting. It's weird, though, I identify with all of them. All of them in different ways. When I read fic, even, I get really into it. Especially with good fic, I can easily imagine myself in their circumstances, feeling what they're feeling. 

The Ochwelian Arc in Book Three was very impactful to me, then, as you could imagine. That's what made me into a huge fan, because the book was so concerned with getting to the core of each character's motivation in such a raw, naked way. And it turned out that KTG's canon aligned with what I'd already imagined, especially for characters like Pryor and Tawnie who played things close to their chests until that point. I saw how a lot of fans were blind-sided by Tawnie being on the side of the ChaoTech, even after the first plexus crash, and I just didn't get why it was shocking. I felt like it made complete sense the moment I read it. Some people love theorycrafting about the world and the details behind the why and the how, but I like theorizing on the psychological goings-on of the characters. To the point where I identify with all of them. 

I guess that makes me a little weird >_>

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-26 11:56 pm UTC (link)  
  
Will is our favorite weirdo!! <3 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-26 11:58 pm UTC (link)  
  
I, too, thoroughly enjoy the depth of psychological analysis one can, and sometimes must, run through in order to even see the shape of the puzzle pieces that make up the Faublood Instance.

Do you ever do any writing? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-27 12:03 am UTC (link)  
  
I dabble. Have dabbled, past tense. I wrote a few fics in the early days (right after the release of Book Four and for a few months after), but fic writing is a little too overwhelming for me. It kind of took over my life a bit, so I stopped and just stuck to reading and discussions after that. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-27 12:07 am UTC (link)  
  
Digital Haruspicy  
Like Spinning Plates  
On the Patterns of Striatal Dopamine Depletion  
Take Me Somewhere Nice  
^^^ my favorite Will fics! 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-09-27 12:08 am UTC (link)  
  
Bev wtfffffffff these are so old. D: 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-09-27 12:07 pm UTC (link)  
  
Not really! They hold up! Everyone should read Like Spinning Plates at the very least. It's essential reading imho 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-09-27 12:07 am UTC (link)  
  
Thank you kindly, Beverly. I'll enjoy reading these :) 

* * *

  
**HiddenPlexus:** Will.  
**WolfTrapped:** Alana.  
**HiddenPlexus:** What are you doing.  
**WolfTrapped:** Nice to talk to you again, too.  
**WolfTrapped:** I guess I'm getting back into the fandom.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I told Jack not to email you.  
**WolfTrapped:** So I heard.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm capable of making my own decisions.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Yeah, I know that very well. I didn't think this would be one of those decisions, though. Not after what happened.  
**WolfTrapped:** Look, it wasn't that serious. I let things get to me, and I went to a dark place, but I bounced back. I'm more focused on work now, on getting outside. It wasn't even a dark place, it was more like a shady place. A lot can change in a year. You know that, too.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I just don't want to see drama in the fandom again.  
**WolfTrapped:** Again, it wasn't that serious. And this isn't, either.  
**HiddenPlexus:** We're less cliquish now.  
**WolfTrapped:** Well, you guys did make Chilton head mod, so yeah it seems that way.  
**WolfTrapped:** Hold on, are you saying that because you think I was the one making things cliquish?  
**HiddenPlexus:** You did just snipe at Chilton immediately.  
**HiddenPlexus:** You're bitchy, Will.  
**HiddenPlexus:** You know I can take it, and it's one of the reasons I like you, but not everyone can. Not everyone likes you.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm not doing this for social capital. I just want to help Jack out, and maybe get back into doing something I enjoy in the process.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Just try not to be too bitchy.  
**WolfTrapped:** Was I being bitchy in the comment section on Beverly's post? Is that why you messaged me?  
**HiddenPlexus:** No, and even if you were I actually think Hannibal would be the last person to rise to your taunts.  
**WolfTrapped:** LOL I do not "taunt"!! If anything you're taunting me right now.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Just like old times. :)  
**WolfTrapped:** Just like old times!  
**WolfTrapped:** Anyway, this guy seems like a pretentious loser.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Judgey!!! Quite the opposite, I'd say. He's a PhD, and balances a lot of hobbies outside of fandom. He's charming, witty. He's a really good writer, and he knows his shit.  
**WolfTrapped:** You got a crush, Alana?  
**HiddenPlexus:** We're friends. We've been friends for a while. You of all people shouldn't presume that everything is a romantic attraction.  
**WolfTrapped:** ouch...  
**HiddenPlexus:** LOL  
**WolfTrapped:** Touche  
**HiddenPlexus:** Water under the bridge. Anyway, I'm not sure he likes women. I don't know for sure, but the tendency toward slashfic and the….. graphic nature…… of those fics has me tilting at "not straight."  
**WolfTrapped:** I wrote slash, too.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Yeah, I know. "Not straight" includes bi.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm just saying, maybe you have a type.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I DON'T HAVE A CRUSH ON HANNIBAL. And I never had a crush on you. Maybe you're projecting, sir.  
**WolfTrapped:** Sorry. LOL. Again, just like old times, right?  
**HiddenPlexus:** Fucking hell. I did miss you. Bitch.  
**WolfTrapped:** So they're good fics?  
**HiddenPlexus:** Thought I made that clear.  
**WolfTrapped:** Which one should I start with? I'll read it now.  
**HiddenPlexus:** You want smut or not smut?  
**WolfTrapped:** I could go either way. Be my fic sommelier.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Here, try this one: http://www.theomniplexus.com/archive/authors/DamoclesEgo/adutyunavoidable.html  
**WolfTrapped:** Okay, reading.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I'm gonna go let the dog out. bbs, leave me your thoughts.  
**WolfTrapped:** k. Tell her I said hi  
**WolfTrapped:** LOL I will.  
**WolfTrapped:** Alana!!!!!! It's good, help.  
**WolfTrapped:** This is too good. This guy writes dialogue like a pro.  
**WolfTrapped:** Usually there's something cringey in every Aaron/Pryor fic that I pick up on immediately, but not here.  
**WolfTrapped:** People write Aaron like he's a sad anime boy so often, and it's annoying, or they latch on to the "gaming" thing as if it's a personality trait. I'm really glad he's not doing that.  
**WolfTrapped:** If there's anything to nitpick it's the length of the paragraphs - this fic is dense as hell and doesn't read well in the digital format - but otherwise I love where this is going.  
**WolfTrapped:** "It sounds like you're about to tell me you have a note signed by your mom to get you out of having this conversation with me" Somehow I did not expect humor from his writing, but there it is. I actually laughed.  
**WolfTrapped:** The coliseum scene, wtf. This is a really elegant reframing of the confrontation at Ochwelian, but out of the game. And it's subtle, too! I feel like my heart just got stepped on.  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh no! No! I see where this is going now and I still love it but it's also EVIL.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Back! Applesauce says hi back.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Yeah, it's good, right???  
**HiddenPlexus:** I'm going to just let you finish reading.  
**WolfTrapped:** This is going to hurt so much.  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh, I just got to the smut.  
**WolfTrapped:** Holy fuck.  
**HiddenPlexus:** uh huh  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh no I hope he thinks my fics are okay. He's reading them now. Ugh, I probably made a fool of myself. Bev linked him TMSN, which is just a fluff-fest. Embarrassing. >_<  
**HiddenPlexus:** You write the best fluff in the fandom.  
**WolfTrapped:** I don't WANT to write the best fluff in the fandom!  
**HiddenPlexus:** Then try branching out. You want to write Aaron getting his freak on. I know you do.  
**WolfTrapped:** It just feels so personal, writing smut. I like reading it, but writing it… I feel like I'm putting myself out there, showing too much of my character.  
**HiddenPlexus:** So you think you can tell someone's sexual disposition by the way they write smut?  
**WolfTrapped:** Kind of, yeah. Unless they're really good.  
**HiddenPlexus:** What would you say about me, then?  
**WolfTrapped:** You're really good, though.  
**WolfTrapped:** Also that's a fucking awkward question.  
**HiddenPlexus:** If you were pressed, what would you say?  
**WolfTrapped:** That you really value mutual trust and understanding. That you don't have many romantic delusions about how sex is messy and stupid sometimes, but it's the little things about it that make it special.  
**WolfTrapped:** That you like going down on women.  
**HiddenPlexus:** LOLOLOLOLOLOL  
**WolfTrapped:** See, conversations like this are why I can't be blamed for thinking you had a crush on me.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I'm just very transparent about things. And you're mostly right. But it's like giving someone a tarot reading. It's only suggestions behind veils. People are more complex than that. No one out there - except you - is thinking that people are 100% about the things they write in fic. If that were the case Hannibal would be in jail for his serial killer Pryor AU.  
**WolfTrapped:** Which one is that?  
**HiddenPlexus:** Dirge. It's one of his least popular because it's pretty out there, but he also writes really, exceedingly normal gen stuff.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I'm saying you should maybe branch out, use this as a new beginning.  
**WolfTrapped:** I am feeling inspired after reading that.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Inspired or "inspired"?  
**WolfTrapped:** AGAIN, THIS IS WHY I CAN'T BE BLAMED FOR THINKING YOU HAD A CRUSH ON ME.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Be honest, did it horn you up.  
**WolfTrapped:** a little  
**HiddenPlexus:** ;)  
**WolfTrapped:** PLEASE don't tell him I said that.  
**HiddenPlexus:** NO!!!!  
**HiddenPlexus:** Will.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Oh my god.  
**HiddenPlexus:** It's been a while since we talked but let's get this clear: I don't talk about you behind your back.  
**WolfTrapped:** You told Jack he shouldn't email me. What did you say then?  
**HiddenPlexus:** Just that. Only that, and "I don't think fandom is good for Will." I promise, you can ask him if you want. You know he's the most honest person we both know. Neither of us would lie to you, I swear I swear I swear.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Some people were really shitty to you, and sometimes maybe for not-altogether-bad reasons. It was a whole toxic circle. But I was never part of that. You can trust me.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I want you to feel safe and happy.  
**HiddenPlexus:** That's why I didn't want you coming back to fandom. It makes you paranoid and vulnerable.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'll be fine.  
**HiddenPlexus:** *hugs*  
**WolfTrapped:** *hugs* Thanks for being cool about things after all this time. Sorry I went quiet for so long.  
**HiddenPlexus:** You needed to. It's okay. I'm still your friend, before anything else.  
**WolfTrapped:** I appreciate that.  
**WolfTrapped:** Seriously, though, it's really good smut.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I know, right? Help me bully him into writing Tawnie/Echoppe. XD  



	3. Chapter 3

Will (don't call it a comeback) ( **panopuply** )  
@ 2004-10-12 at 01:23:56am UTC

 **Current mood:** cranky  
**Current music:** Fleetwood Mac

**Vent Session (locked to FBI friends).**

I know I just got back to this, but here we go, first FBI-locked post of the new era! I needed to vent my steam somewhere so I didn't say something mean on the actual comm (Alana, look, I'm exercising restraint! LOL).

What's Chilton on? I'm just wondering. I seriously want to know what's got him up his own ass like that. Just look at the community welcome post. He's reccing his own fics and discussion posts and, really, if you look at the comments on the post and the hits on the fic, they aren't that popular. I assure you, no one's favorite fic is The Canopy.

First of all, I don't think he's ever quite figured out what his writing style is. It seems like he's perpetually trying to emulate other popular fics of the moment, so it all gets shoehorned into The Canopy. Cohesion suffers for it. One week it's bloated purple prose, the next week it's snappy one-liners and sparse descriptions. He shouldn't still be trying to work this out at Chapter 53. The plot has potential, I'll definitely admit that, but the execution is messy.

His discussion posts are a different beast (no beastmasters pun intended. Okay, maybe a small pun intended). I open one and almost immediately I think "no way I'm reading all that." At a certain point of self-explanation it turns the post from a "discussion post" into a series of personal opinions that probably should have stayed on your own journal, and I'm disinclined to respond because I don't want to cite and refute or agree with every point made in the initial 3,000 word post.

I think that's all for my rant. I'm probably over-reacting, but I had to open the valve a bit. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-10-12 01:35 am UTC (link)  
  
Thank god someone said it…. >_>

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-10-12 01:42 am UTC (link)  
  
He's fine. I get annoyed by him sometimes, and you know I have my personal reasons for that, but his behavior on the comm is harmless. You know he has a lot of opinions about the Beastmasters. He just wants someone to talk to about it. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 01:43 pm UTC (link)  
  
YEAH. It's starting to ruin the Beastmasters for me. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-10-12 01:43 am UTC (link)  
  
Maybe you should stop reading his posts and fic, then. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 01:46 am UTC (link)  
  
I know! I know, I'm just venting. I'm trying to ignore him, but I also don't want it to be obvious that I'm shunning him or anything, so I feel like I have to comment occasionally. One big happy fandom family and all. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-10-12 01:47 am UTC (link)  
  
Hi *waves* I don't really want to get in the middle of all this, but I just wanted to say I don't read The Canopy either. It got away from him after chapter 15 or so. His Echoppe/Arie short fics are pretty okay. I also think he's annoying, I'll admit that. But there are some people who really seem to like him, so who am I to judge! XD 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-10-12 01:49 am UTC (link)  
  
Exactly. This is how I feel, thanks Bev. 

Hey Will, while I'm here, can you add Hannibal to this group?

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 01:49 am UTC (link)  
  
Uh. You sure he won't blab to anyone about all my friends-locked vitriol? LOL? 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-10-12 01:50 am UTC (link)  
  
On the contrary. I'm hoping he might talk you down, actually. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 01:51 am UTC (link)  
  
Fine. He's added. 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-10-12 01:51 am UTC (link)  
  
Like Bev, I don't have much to add (I like to stay out of these things), but I definitely understand what you're saying. I just wanted to say I feel very privileged to be included in Will's FBI friends group now!! Woo hoo! 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-10-12 01:55 am UTC (link)  
  
Hi Zell! Welcome to Will's FBI Group: where all the cool kids hang out! 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-10-12 01:57 am UTC (link)  
  
I thought I'd be doing much cooler things in my adulthood. No offense, Will. 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-10-12 01:58 am UTC (link)  
  
(sings to the tune of the Chuck E Cheese jingle) Will Graham's Friends List: Where an adult can be a kid! 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-10-12 02:03 am UTC (link)  
  
Also honored to be included. After perusing the comments here, I must say I find more to agree with in Will's original assessment than some of you. I'm not sure it's entirely Chilton's fault, though. I believe Chilton is excited to share his interest, as well as his ships, and to cast the widest net in doing so. The result may be that those of us who have no active interest find ourselves annoyed to be caught in that net. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 02:08 am UTC (link)  
  
I don't even care about the ships, really. Although if I were pressed, I would have to say that Echoppe/Arie is one of the least likely ships. If Arie is just a projection of Aaron's post-crash consciousness stuck in the game, I feel like that consciousness would be incapable of trusting anyone he hadn't already imprinted on in a romantic sense. Not that KTG didn't start hinting at programs being able to feel love for players, but I still believe that was moving more toward a protective instinct, i.e. Twilight and Courtland, or Spark and Pryor. 

Oh, and don't even get me started on how he thinks Spark and Arie would get along! Arie would loathe Spark for letting Pryor get hurt. And that's the first thing Arie sees Spark do! No way they'd be allies. The whole Spark-as-Beastmaster aspect of The Canopy is just nonsense to me. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-10-12 02:10 am UTC (link)  
  
Okay, to your first point, he thinks Echoppe is a program, so that's why he interprets it like that. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 02:14 am UTC (link)  
  
Ugh, I know, and that's even more baffling. Programs loving each other is even MORE unprecedented. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-10-12 02:15 am UTC (link)  
  
Boo v_v;; I love Echoppe/Arie, I think it's sweet. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 02:14 am UTC (link)  
  
That's totally all right! I don't care. I have no skin in that game. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-10-12 02:15 am UTC (link)  
  
To be equitable, Beverly, you also don't subscribe to the Arie = Aaron interpretation. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-10-12 02:15 am UTC (link)  
  
Nope! ^_^/* Arie is his own man - er - program! 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-10-12 02:21 am UTC (link)  
  
Correct me if I'm wrong, Will, but it seems this interpretation is what informs your opinion of the ship almost exclusively. Your skin in this particular game seems to be the integrity of Arie's - nee Aaron's - characterization. If Chilton's interpretation is placing Echoppe and Arie on a common ground of starting as programs, the need to imprint upon a player is irrelevant. He's then free to explore the dynamics surrounding mutual program romance. Something KTG never explores. 

I agree completely with you regarding Spark and Arie, however. This sort of OOC behavior alone prevents me from enjoying The Canopy as I might otherwise. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 02:32 am UTC (link)  
  
You don't also agree that his writing and style consistency is all over the place? 

And you're right, but the thing is, I'm not actually upset about the ship at all (again, I want to make that clear)! I totally understand why Bev likes it, and others like it. It's a cute ship, it's a sweet ship. If it's written well, I'll read it. You guys know me, I'm the fluff expert, and Echoppe/Arie is fluff personified. I just think it's not canon-supported. Because the canon evidence being what it is means they're acting OOC simply by being together. And Chilton is very strong on his canon basis for The Canopy. There - that's my skin. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-10-12 02:35 am UTC (link)  
  
I. Regarding writing and style consistency, I agree. However, I believe it's uncharitable to hold any hobbyist to professional standards. 

II. Do you think he's interpreting canon incorrectly? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 02:40 am UTC (link)  
  
I think he's doing a lot of things incorrectly, and again: it's not about the ships. I don't mind the ships. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-10-12 02:44 am UTC (link)  
  
He also ships Courtland/Twilight... 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 02:49 am UTC (link)  
  
Oh my god, when did that start? 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-10-12 02:52 am UTC (link)  
  
Recently, in a couple of short fics. But I think that was more of a thing he inserted to appease Gideon. Gideon's his beta reader now. He called it out in the recent author's notes, like "I added some Courtland/Twilight inferences to please some of you. You know who you are!" It's not even subtle - everyone knows that ship is twisted. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-10-12 02:54 am UTC (link)  
  
It seems there are some ships that still inspire some level of "caring" from you, after all, Will. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 03:01 am UTC (link)  
  
Look. I'm not going to sit here and be the Ship Police, and I'm not going to sit here and list off the canon evidence that makes me say "yeah I can see how someone might interpret Courtland/Twilight as possible." I just think it's wrong. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-10-12 03:02 am UTC (link)  
  
Morally, or textually? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-10-12 03:05 am UTC (link)  
  
Textually. But also, I mean, he _built_ her… so…

I just like the comm to promote quality writing, quality contributions. I don't mind when subpar quality exists, not at all! It's not what I enjoy, but if people are having fun, I support that. I just think it's an abuse of authority for Chilton to be pushing his weird, unwieldy fic on the comm he happens to moderate. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-10-12 03:06 am UTC (link)  
  
The comment section here is getting rather long, I see. If you'd rather take this off of LJ, you can feel free to message me. My AIM screen name is DrLecter. Anyone else who sees this can feel free to message me, as well - apparently Will's friends list is good company! 

* * *

  
**WolfTrapped:** Hello doctor. I have a headache named yhoriun_tree. What do you prescribe?  
**DrLecter:** Not that kind of doctor, I'm afraid. :) But I believe acetaminophen and talking about it would be a good start for this particular variety of headache.  
**WolfTrapped:** Sorry for presuming.  
**DrLecter:** Quite all right.  
**DrLecter:** Is it truly Chilton, at the root of your ire?  
**WolfTrapped:** What else would it be?  
**DrLecter:** Well, what does Chilton represent?  
**WolfTrapped:** Authority without responsibility. Shoddy writing. Delusions.  
**DrLecter:** Delusions?  
**WolfTrapped:** Ugh, that's a whole thing. Well, besides thinking he's a bigger deal than he is. That's one of the delusions. But he also seems to think people are his friend, when they're not.  
**DrLecter:** Do you speak for yourself, here?  
**WolfTrapped:** Yeah, but I think he's wised up to me. I tend to wear it on my sleeve when I don't like someone. But also Alana. He's been kind of creepy to her in the past.  
**DrLecter:** And you feel protective of Alana.  
**WolfTrapped:** I don't know? I guess. We're fandom bffs, I guess. She's that kind of person I can just pick up a conversation with at any time, even if we haven't spoken for weeks.  
**DrLecter:** Funny, she's never mentioned Chilton to me, or that she found him particularly creepy.  
**WolfTrapped:** She doesn't like to talk about other people. At least not in private. I'm pulling out my crystal ball, now: she's going to be upset with me for my post today, for starting this conversation.  
**DrLecter:** Do you have romantic feelings for her?  
**WolfTrapped:** omg  
**WolfTrapped:** I don't know.  
**WolfTrapped:** It's so complicated.  
**DrLecter:** If you don't want to talk about it, that's entirely understandable. I'm sorry for prying.  
**WolfTrapped:** Well, your favorite character is Pry-or.  
**WolfTrapped:** Dumb joke.  
**WolfTrapped:** Um. I don't NOT want to talk about it. Maybe it would help if someone else knew. There's way too much history here, in the fandom in general.  
**DrLecter:** Well, I would certainly be honored if you trusted me enough to tell me about it. I'll do my best to help.  
**WolfTrapped:** I guess you're easy to talk to.  
**DrLecter:** I try to be. I believe listening to people as often as possible is the only way to stay truly informed and unbiased.  
**WolfTrapped:** It's fandom. It's not politics.  
**DrLecter:** Isn't it?  
**WolfTrapped:** Deep.  
**WolfTrapped:** Anyway, Alana and I used to be a lot closer than we are now. I mean, she still knows me better than anyone else, but we used to be a constant duo, it felt like. I guess I took that a lot more to heart than she did. I asked her one night if she'd consider taking our friendship further, and she got very cagey.  
**WolfTrapped:** She didn't exactly reject me - probably because she didn't want to upset me, in retrospect - but it was obvious that I'd read a lot into our friendship that probably wasn't there.  
**WolfTrapped:** You're hearing this from me many months later, when I've done some reflecting on it. If you'd asked me to tell you about this in mid-2003 I'd be too embarrassed to even take responsibility for that. For misinterpreting it.  
**DrLecter:** I see. She has mentioned you as her close friend, if that means anything. But, as you mentioned previously, she doesn't like to talk about others. My knowledge of you was extremely limited until recently, but your name did carry a certain amount of reverence with it. Knowing you were a trusted confidant of Alana put you in a strata that few occupy, you understand.  
**WolfTrapped:** Yeah. I'm still grateful for that. That she trusts me.  
**DrLecter:** Did the romantic fall-out impact your involvement in fandom at all?  
**WolfTrapped:** It was the impetus of my pulling-away, yes. For a while I didn't trust people very much. I didn't feel like I could trust Alana, even. Not like I had before. I was suspicious that people knew about what had happened, and in retrospect I acted out.  
**DrLecter:** I'm sorry, Will. Was this a new phenomenon for you? That sort of acting out?  
**WolfTrapped:** Not entirely.  
**WolfTrapped:** I've always been prone to letting fandom wank get to me. And being involved in it, for some reason.  
**DrLecter:** Ah, yes. That term. I only learned recently what it even means. I guess I've stayed out of it, for the most part. More's the pity, I suppose.  
**WolfTrapped:** No, no, no. It's entertaining from the outside looking in, but you never want to be caught in the middle of it, trust me. LOL. Sometimes it sneaks up on you.  
**WolfTrapped:** I still distinctly remember being at work (I'm a teacher, btw), during my planning period, and checking my email only to find that Alana, Jack, and Jimmy had all emailed me ahead of a tidal wave of comment notifications about something I'd said off-handedly the night before. Long story short, what I thought was a joke was misconstrued as a statement of fact, and it led people to believe certain writers were being blacklisted from The OmniPlexus Archive. I was the scape-goat for the whole thing because I suppose I was an easy target.  
**DrLecter:** Why an easy target, do you think?  
**WolfTrapped:** Well, doctor, having known me only a short time, why would you think so? What are your first impressions of me?  
**DrLecter:** That you're opinionated. That you value the intricate mores of fandom etiquette, and look unkindly on those that breech them. You seem to have a high set of standards and value being proven correct in holding those standards more than you value being liked.  
**WolfTrapped:** Ouch.  
**WolfTrapped:** You're not wrong, but ouch.  
**WolfTrapped:** Again, months of self-reflection. I'd have avoided this conversation entirely if not for that.  
**DrLecter:** Well, again, I'm honored you deem me worthy of the inner circle.  
**WolfTrapped:** LOL we're hardly an inner circle. There's no great cabal. Jack and Alana barely tolerate my bullshit, I think.  
**DrLecter:** What happened after the blacklist incident? Do you mind my asking?  
**WolfTrapped:** I don't. Freddie posted it to fandom_wank before I could even get online to defend myself (again, I was at work), and the post exploded.  
**DrLecter:** Freddie?  
**WolfTrapped:** tattlefan. If you haven't seen her around, you're lucky. She runs with Chilton and Gideon, and if I were to say I have an actual enemy in this fandom, it's her.  
**DrLecter:** I've not had the pleasure - or displeasure, as you imply.  
**WolfTrapped:** So after that, Alana convinced me to just look away, and she and Jack did damage control. That's back when Alana was still head mod, so she froze the post and locked the community to avoid the influx of trolls. But I read the comments, read the fallout. What I saw suggested that my reputation was fraught at that point, that I'd talked out of my ass and faced the consequences. Fandom is a fickle mistress, and all that.  
**DrLecter:** If one chooses to take a mistress, there are more loyal ones to take than fandom, certainly.  
**WolfTrapped:** At the time fandom felt more like a spouse, really. LOL. Which is my own fault. I reacted… brashly.  
**WolfTrapped:** Ugh, this part actually hurts to remember.  
**DrLecter:** You really don't need to tell me, if you don't want to. I didn't want to dredge anything up by talking to you, I promise.  
**WolfTrapped:** No, it's okay. I like that someone who wasn't there knows. It makes it feel more impersonal.  
**DrLecter:** Very well.  
**WolfTrapped:** I got in my head. I got in my head bad, and I let my paranoia egg me on until I was sure people were actually trying to push me out. They weren't, of course, but I believed they were.  
**DrLecter:** What provoked that paranoia, do you think?  
**WolfTrapped:** I felt alienated. I didn't have any real life friends. I thought I'd blown it with Alana. I was investing way too much time into fandom and being online, and I wasn't balancing my other priorities well, so it became my everything. When it led to the proverbial slings and arrows of that week, it felt inexplicably as if I'd lost everything. So I couldn't blame myself, naturally. I was a very personally invested observer. So I lashed out at whoever was closest.  
**DrLecter:** Jack and Alana.  
**WolfTrapped:** Exactly. In the strangest twist of irony, Chilton actually jumped on AIM to talk meout of doing anything stupid. Alana had my home phone number, so she called me on the phone, even, but it was too late. I deleted my old LJ and left the community. I then got drunk and diassociated for the weekend, and when I came back around to reality I realized I'd essentially sabotaged something that made me happy.  
**DrLecter:** Did it make you happy, though? Based on what you've told me, I'm skeptical.  
**WolfTrapped:** It… brought me something to look forward to. Happiness has long been a foreign concept for me.  
**DrLecter:** I see.  
**WolfTrapped:** Life got a lot better, though. In general. I mean, I still don't have many real life friends, but I feel like less of my life revolves around online bullshit now. I just don't make friends easily. If you think I'm off-putting online, you should encounter me in real life. I've been told I'm unapproachable.  
**DrLecter:** I don't find you off-putting. In fact, you seem quite open and honest, with little to hide. Even if your actions are what some might consider brash and your rationalizations are emotional, that suggests an uncommon level of empathy.  
**WolfTrapped:** Um Thanks, I guess?  
**DrLecter:** I'd like to talk to you about less heavy subjects in the future. I hope you'd allow that. The memories give me context, but I'd like to talk to the Will-of-the-present.  
**WolfTrapped:** LOL, me too. I'd like that too!  
**DrLecter:** Especially knowing we share some common interpretations of FBI canon, I can only imagine what we could get up to with our powers combined.  
**WolfTrapped:** Well, I'm back on the market for a new fandom partner-in-crime :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how or why I'm writing this so quickly. I expect the pace to break off very soon, especially as I need to start weaving Webs of Intrigue. Anyway, I hope folks are having fun with it. Thanks for reading!
> 
> A few notes here that I've been holding off on while I gauged whether I even had steam to keep going on this:
> 
> 1\. Mimicking any type of authentic threading in the LJ comment portions would have been a nightmare for everyone scrolling, hence the more linear presentation. Just imagine that when Will and Hannibal go off on their mutual comment-fests they're trending toward a deeper and deeper right-hand indent. Godawful. How did we live back then. 
> 
> 2\. I have consciously chosen to ignore the fraught state of US politics in November 2004 and focus instead on these dorks being insufferable. Just in case you see the date stamp in this chapter and happen to know "hey something big happened the week before this, irl"
> 
> 3\. I've thought a bit about ages and how everyone slots in here. I'd figure everyone's ages are proportionally the same, but aged down by 5-10 years depending on your interpretation. Please note, this is entirely accurate to my experiences in fandom, especially sci-fi and book-based fandoms, at the time. I was a baby in fandom in 2004, thinking "I hope all these cool adults with job security and college degrees think I'm worthy to hang out here." In some cases: no! So that's the climate, if you were wondering. It's one of those old people fandoms. 
> 
> 4\. The reservoir is really called that.

  
**HiddenPlexus:** It's nice to see your name in author's notes again. Especially mine. :)  
**WolfTrapped:** Yeah. It's good to be back. I've been having fun.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Just don't have too much fun, if you know what I mean.  
**WolfTrapped:** I assure you I take no pleasure in starting drama, and I'm trying my utmost to be fair and measured this time around.  
**WolfTrapped:** And as for right now, I'm having very little fun. I'm beta reading one of Jack's fics now, trying to knock out a couple tonight before I grade some papers.  
**HiddenPlexus:** I was just teasing. You've been fine. That one comment to Gideon a couple of days ago was borderline assholish, but I have to admit I laughed.  
**WolfTrapped:** ?? Which one ??  
**HiddenPlexus:** Let me find it.  
**HiddenPlexus:** "I don't know, man, I'm not the one who gets off on the idea of crash death."  
**WolfTrapped:** He took it as a joke.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Just be careful, LOL  
**WolfTrapped:** The submission queue is more full than I've ever seen it before. Now I know why Jack called me in. I used to enjoy getting a few days' break between submissions coming through, but it's just churning now.  
**HiddenPlexus:** The influx might have something to do with DragonCon  
**WolfTrapped:** Hm?  
**HiddenPlexus:** A Rigby costume actually placed in the costume contest at DragonCon in September, and it was incredible.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Hang on let me find the link where someone posted pics.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Here ya go. http://thefbi.livejournal.com/1158.html Look at how she built the hemacircuitry for the Bio Plexus suit out of LEDs and silicone molding.  
**WolfTrapped:** Holy shit this is fantastic. Is this Bedelia? I remember she was talking about doing something like this a couple years back.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Yes!! She hasn't been around thefbi for ages, but she still hangs out on some other comms from time to time. She's more into the smaller forums these days.  
**WolfTrapped:** I had no idea she looked, you know, exactly like Rigby. Wow. So this won?  
**HiddenPlexus:** It won "Best in Show" for the costume contest. Big news for FBI, really. According to what I've read, a lot of people were asking about it on forums not even associated with the fandom at large, buying the books, getting into it. It probably brought people back to the fandom who might have thought it was dead.  
**WolfTrapped:** A new fandom wave. Interesting.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Small, in the grand scheme of things, but when you have only three or four volunteers even fifteen new fics seems staggering.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Imagine if we'd gotten to do our panel at DragonCon this year!  
**WolfTrapped:** You guys were going to do a panel??  
**HiddenPlexus:** We wanted to. Jack and I were planning it. He's much closer to Atlanta now that he's living in Florida, so it wouldn't have been too much for me to fly in from Richmond and make a weekend out of it. Especially since Bev's right there. But everything fell through. Family stuff, work stuff. Money stuff, mostly.  
**WolfTrapped:** Bev's in Atlanta?  
**HiddenPlexus:** Yeah!  
**WolfTrapped:** I thought she was at Northwestern.  
**HiddenPlexus:** She finally finished grad school last year, took a job in GA. LOL, you missed some happenings.  
**WolfTrapped:** I apparently did. Last I heard she was still working on her dissertation.  
**HiddenPlexus:** That dissertation took forever.  
**WolfTrapped:** As they do.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Right  
**WolfTrapped:** Not that I'd know. Wait, that means Bev's a doctor now????  
**HiddenPlexus:** In materials science, yes!  
**WolfTrapped:** I need to message her to congratulate her - very belatedly, yeah, but I'm so proud!  
**WolfTrapped:** This fandom is so fucking smart. Makes me feel like a failure sometimes.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Sometimes it's like we're TOO smart. LOL. You're included in that, though. You're not a failure.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm also not part of the doctor club, which apparently has at least two members in this fandom.  
**HiddenPlexus:** It's a sci-fi series about doctors written by a doctor!! Of course there's a proportion of actual doctor fans there!  
**HiddenPlexus:** Speaking of doctors, you and Hannibal seem to be getting along swimmingly.  
**WolfTrapped:** LOL  
**WolfTrapped:** Yeah I guess so. I'm still surprised. From the outside looking in, I'd never think I could stand him.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Told ya!  
**WolfTrapped:** I hate admitting you were right, but here: you were right.  
**HiddenPlexus:** :)  
**HiddenPlexus:** He mentions you a lot.  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh no.  
**HiddenPlexus:** No, no, it's good! He thinks you're smart, he thinks you're funny.  
**WolfTrapped:** If he ever does decide I'm insufferable, just don't tell me. I'd rather find out organically, LOL.  
**HiddenPlexus:** You know it. ;)  
**HiddenPlexus:** Still reading?  
**WolfTrapped:** I got distracted while we were talking. I'm about to make a post with photos from my weekend trip.  
**HiddenPlexus:** A photo post! Now that takes me back. Where'd you go?  
**WolfTrapped:** Went up to Maryland, to the reservoir. With a few folks from the fishing group I joined. It always feels weird to be the youngest one there, but they're low-energy and kind. Loved the opportunity to get out of town. Since the weather's going to turn on us soon, I figured now was the time.  
**HiddenPlexus:** Eager to see the post when it goes up! 

* * *

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-11-16 10:01 pm UTC (link)  
  
Will pics! Will pics! OMG this place looks gorgeous.

Is it snowing there yet? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-16 10:16 pm UTC (link)  
  
Nope. Usually doesn't until December or so. It wasn't even that cold, when we went. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-11-16 10:20 pm UTC (link)  
  
The trees are so beautiful. I'm glad you shared these, now I want to get out this weekend and enjoy fall. Also: eeee you look cute! ^_^

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-16 10:27 pm UTC (link)  
  
:P Don't look at my face, lol. There were more pictures, but they had other people from the group I went with, so I didn't want to post them. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-11-16 10:28 pm UTC (link)  
  
Where was this? It looks familiar. I'm a couple of states over, now, but there were a few trips out and about while I was at Hopkins. This is in Maryland, correct? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-16 10:29 pm UTC (link)  
  
Prettyboy Reservoir! 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-11-16 10:30 pm UTC (link)  
  
Ah, yes.

A placename befitting your presence. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-16 10:31 pm UTC (link)  
  
0_0…….

I don't know what to say to that. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-11-16 10:34 pm UTC (link)  
  
XD XD Take the compliment, Will.

* * *

**JPriceIsRight:** You know I never AIM for just any reason but I absolutely had to after that last comment on your LJ  
**WolfTrapped:** GOD!!!!!  
**WolfTrapped:** WHY DID HE SAY THAT????  
**JPriceIsRight:** XD XD XD XD XD  
**JPriceIsRight:** Congrats, I guess. LOL  
**WolfTrapped:** I don't even know what he looks like. I don't even know how old he is.  
**JPriceIsRight:** He's older than you, for sure. Also he's hot. Hence the "congrats, I guess"  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh no.  
**JPriceIsRight:** Hold on. Gotta find a thread with photos from a party post.  
**JPriceIsRight:** thefbi.livejournal.com/976.html?thread=2580#t2580  
**JPriceIsRight:** Proof.  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh no...  
**WolfTrapped:** I hate you.  
**JPriceIsRight:** XD XD XD  
**WolfTrapped:** Alana just told me he flirts with everyone so it's nothing to take too seriously.  
**JPriceIsRight:** He's never flirted with me. Or Bev. Or Jack. Not like that!

* * *

**DrLecter:** I must apologize for my earlier comment. I saw the opportunity for some jest and I took it. It was inappropriate.  
**WolfTrapped:** You take a lot of opportunities for jest, usually, and don't apologize for those. Why this one?  
**DrLecter:** I believe it may have made you uncomfortable.  
**WolfTrapped:** It didn't. It was just surprising. I can take a joke.  
**DrLecter:** The joke was not at your expense. I assure you. Only a pun that was too easy to make. I couldn't resist.  
**WolfTrapped:** What are you assuring me of, exactly?  
**DrLecter:** You would pull that confession from me by force, would you? From our discussions of form and prose I was under the impression that you valued subtlety.  
**WolfTrapped:** Yeah, but I'm stubborn, too. I'm a Taurus, after all.  
**DrLecter:** Ah, yes. Taurean symbology is associated with machismo and aggression - some would say pig-headedness. However the astrological significance of bullishness marks your personality, Will, I don't see it reflected in your appearance.  
**DrLecter:** That is: you are, indeed, pretty.  
**WolfTrapped:** Way to take the long way around.  
**DrLecter:** Perhaps I need a beta reader to improve my concision.  
**DrLecter:** Do you happen to know one?  
**WolfTrapped:** LOL. Maybe so. What have you got?  
**DrLecter:** I wouldn't have us abandon the previous thread of conversation so easily. I want to be certain I haven't made you uncomfortable.  
**WolfTrapped:** You haven't. It's fine.  
**DrLecter:** That's good.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm just not used to it, is all.  
**DrLecter:** That's a shame.  
**WolfTrapped:** Yeah, tell me about it. You've seen like three photos of me (unless you've raided my other photoposts). It all goes downhill from there. But thanks, I suppose.  
**DrLecter:** My pleasure.  
**DrLecter:** Now, to my earlier mention of needing a beta reader, an occasion to which you so enthusiastically rose: that wasn't only an attempt to deflect. I've been more inspired than usual recently, I find. My evenings have been filled with writing, freeform and aimless, in hopes I might strike a vein.  
**WolfTrapped:** And I'm assuming you did strike that vein.  
**DrLecter:** A rich one. I've managed to chisel away at my stream of consciousness to create the rough outline of a multi-chapter story.  
**WolfTrapped:** Hmmm. Tell me more.  
**DrLecter:** A few nights ago we discussed Alternate Universe fiction, and found ourselves at an impasse. Both of us in favor, but under completely different circumstances.  
**WolfTrapped:** I read AUs to find a complete reprieve from canon, and turn my brain off for a while  
**DrLecter:** Whereas I read them to examine the machinations of canon within a different context, to see the same gristmill of emotion, action, and reaction fed different grains.  
**WolfTrapped:** What grains are you considering?  
**DrLecter:** I'll quote from the thesis statement of my fledgling outline: "Ten fractured timelines form in the wake of the first Alpha Plexus Crash. Some comprise lifetimes, others only minutes. Each is a world in which Aaron confronts and reaches beyond one of the many lenses through which he views Pryor."  
**WolfTrapped:** That sounds… ambitious  
**DrLecter:** Quite! Which is why I've been prioritizing my outline above anything else. Ten different alternate universes, which I hope to weave together in something recalling the technique of KTG. Each universe informing the other, thematically and transitionally. Ambitious, yes, but sure to be a rewarding endeavor if undertaken with care and determination.  
**WolfTrapped:** Quick question: how on earth do you manage to write so much, and be online so often, as a practicing psychiatrist?  
**DrLecter:** My practice is small. I have the cushion of generational wealth to ease my daily routine. Those are the two most notable reasons. Beyond that, I have excellent time management skills, Will.  
**WolfTrapped:** I may need to take lessons from you.  
**DrLecter:** I would enjoy the opportunity.  
**WolfTrapped:** Only three years as a teacher and I'm wondering how I'll make it through a semester.  
**DrLecter:** I could actually use your expertise in one of the alternate universes proposed by my current outline - the one in which Pryor is, indeed, a teacher.  
**WolfTrapped:** Okay, now I need to know the other 9 alternate universes. You've piqued my curiosity, not that I should be surprised anymore when you do that.  
**DrLecter:** Would you mind if I send you an email? I believe the outline I've drafted speaks for itself.  
**WolfTrapped:** Not at all. wolftrapped55 at hotmail  
**DrLecter:** The email has been sent. Please take your time to consider my request to beta read. I have no doubt this fic might take an undue amount of emotional energy, and that may be protracted depending on the eventual length.  
**WolfTrapped:** Yeah, I can see how. I'm skimming, but the two that immediately strike me are Pryor as jailer and Pryor as occupying force. Those would be a lot.  
**WolfTrapped:** Wait.  
**WolfTrapped:** "Devourer"?  
**DrLecter:** Yes, Pryor as the devourer, like the Titan Cronus devouring his children to prevent his usurpation.  
**WolfTrapped:** Metaphorically, I hope.  
**DrLecter:** I was planning to invoke some cosmic horror elements that would belie any literal reading, but no, not entirely metaphorical.  
**WolfTrapped:** This fic sure is primed to go to some dark places.  
**WolfTrapped:** But I am intrigued by it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a beefy boy of a chapter, I know. I started out with the intention to go deeper into in-fiction FBI lore out of necessity, and once I popped I couldn't stop. 
> 
> VH1 Behind the Fic: YES, the Faublood Instance was an old story idea of mine (though under a different name with a less fitting acronym). NO, it never got off the ground. NO, I don't know shit about medicine and that was detrimental!
> 
> I'm happy a few people seem to be enjoying this fic - thank you for the comments, I cherish each and every one! Another update is likely on the way this weekend. I just wanted to break up the chapter here and hop into the fallout next.

Will (don't call it a comeback) ( **yhoriun_tree** ) wrote in **thefbi**  
@ 2004-11-22 08:12:00 am UTC

 **Current mood:** accomplished  
**Current music:** "This Fire" by Franz Ferdinand

**[Theory] The Unifying Theory of Pryor/Aaron**

At the request of a few people, I've branched this discussion out from the larger Arie=Aaron post so it can be added to Memories under the new "Theory" category. 

This is a more comprehensive rundown of my theory regarding the first plexus crash, and the evidence that subtextually, but liberally, points at a romantic relationship between Aaron and Pryor.

Special thanks to antikythera for staying on AIM with me for hours to work out this theory. I know I was particularly rabid in my sudden need to document all of this before it left my mind, so the sounding board was much appreciated. He also helped pull at a few strings that were loose in my mind. Also thanks to courtlaaand for his Timeline Format \- I ganked it because it’s truly a wonderful format for stuff like this. 

This seemed at one point during the writing as if it would be good basis for a post on **ship_manifesto** , so I explain certain non-canon terms like "crash death" for the uninitiated. If anyone else wants to take the responsibility of making that post, please do so! Rigby/Courtland and Tawnie/Echoppe can't be the only ships with posts on that comm.

A handy breakdown of the timeline of the first plexus crash, for those who still have trouble keeping it all in their heads:

What Happens Out of Game | What Happens in Game | What Happens Elsewhere | Where this is Addressed  
---|---|---|---  
Alpha Plexus is waiting to begin the Ochwelian bypass, which will effectively use Aaron's consciousness as a conduit for the injection of code to overwrite the Faublood Plague. | Pryor and Spark lead the Bio Plexus team to the Faugate of the Samaras Sanctuary as a distraction. |  |   
Alpha Plexus kicks all current players offline with the exception of the BP team. Aaron attempts the Ochwelian bypass for the first time, with himself as the host. |  The BP team discovers what Pryor already knew - that the Sanctuary's   
Faugate was blockaded, seemingly from the inside. | Aaron experiences crash death: vivid, lucid dreams, most of which are not remembered until certain later events seem to trigger the memories. | Linear text (Chapter 13, Book Three), Aaron's flashback (Chapter 23 - Book Four), ???? (Chapter 14, Book Three)  
The Ochwelian bypass initiates the First Alpha Plexus Crash. The crash lasts 20 minutes in the real world. | Nothing - the game is completely inaccessible or inescapable during the crash. | Characters who were in the game at the time of the crash experience crash death as well (Rigby, Courtland, Pryor). Some crash deaths span unconscious years, and in the case of certain characters are cohabited, effectively creating alternate timelines. | Implied in linear text (Chapter 13, Book Three), confirmed by Twilight’s flash forward (Chapter 1, Book Three), Echoppe’s flashback (Chapter 4. Book Four), Rigby’s epilogue (Epilogue, Book Three), and Pryor’s flashback (Chapter 24, Book Three)  
Aaron is pronounced dead by Tawnie almost immediately after the crash, but she notes that the code for the Ochwelian bypass is continuing to process after the time of death. | It is suggested that Aaron is cohabiting a timeline with Pryor, who finds him dying of the Faublood Plague. Paul coldly rips out Aaron's Plexus Port, which seems to kill him. This may be a flashback or flash forward - it's not clear. | Linear text (Chapter 13, Book Three), ???? (Chapter 14, Book Three)  
The immediate aftermath of the First Alpha Plexus Crash. Aaron comes back to life as soon as the bypass code stops processing and the Faugate reopens. | The Faugate of the Samaras Sanctuary opens, apparently at the hand of a young Beastmaster acolyte named Arie. At the same time, Courtland attempts to kill Pryor in-game for his treachery, and Spark stands by, seemingly defying his programming. Pryor is injured. |  | Linear text (Chapter 14, Book Three, and Chapter 15, Book Three)  
| All players currently infected with the Faublood Plague are inoculated as the Ochwelian bypass propogates, and the game has now expanded to include the Samaras Sanctuary. Courtland feels only kinda bad about trying to kill Pryor. |  | Linear text (Chapter 15, Book Three), Courtland's flash forward (Chapter 1, Book Three)  
  
So, knowing this, it's important to first understand the following:

  * Pryor knew the Ochwelian bypass would work, though at great risk to Aaron, because Pryor has seen this happen before. 
  * Pryor was there at ChaoTech when Echoppe performed the Ochwelian bypass that staunched the first Faublood, causing her consciousness to become trapped in the game (this is mentioned explicitly in Chapter 12, Book One, shortly after the BP team meets Echoppe).
  * So why did Echoppe become trapped? Tawnie thinks it's because she thought Echoppe was actually dead, and terminated her connection to the game - trapping her in the game, forfeiting her human form. No other theory is presented as to the reason, though, and we have no reason to doubt that Tawnie is correct to think this.
  * Echoppe’s own view of her role in the game, her subconscious sense of self, informed what she awoke as in the game. But moreover, she was "herself" - she knew of herself as "Echoppe", she remembered what she was. In simple terms, her player character was effectively just promoted to NPC status.



Now then, we know a little about how the world works and the game works, in terms of trapping players and making programs out of them - specifically when one dares to fuck around with injecting bio-code to combat Faublood. How does this relate to Aaron and Pryor?

Well, let's take a closer look at Chapter 14, Book Three, which I've been gleefully referring to as the rosetta stone of Pryor and Aaron. The fact that Pryor and Aaron are cohabiting a crash death timeline is evidence enough for some that the ship is real, but this goes deeper. Pryor also kills Aaron during this scene - brutally and coldly - and that's also evidence for some that this ship is a non-starter. But why does Pryor kill him? The obvious answer is that Aaron is already dying of Faublood Plague, and if he doesn't remove the Plexus Port entirely, as quickly as possible, he's going to be infected as well. He's been doing this a while, he knows what's about to happen.  
Here's the thing about that: if the Ochwelian bypass works, the Plague won't be a thing anymore. Again, Pryor has seen it work. He knows that this infected Aaron will be inoculated as soon as the Faugate comes back online, and so will he. He doesn't have reason to doubt this the same way Courtland and Rigby do (read: because Pryor has yet to get his hands on any proof that the first bypass ever successfully happened).

The next thing to question is whether or not this is actually happening _in-game_. Books Three and Four are already notorious for their blurring of lines - game vs. real world, past vs. future, corporeal vs. subconscious - so I can't help being charitable toward the multitudes who see this scene as "Game Aaron" dying, meaning Arie is in fact just a Beastmaster acolyte with no connection to Aaron whatsoever. I get that. The only argument that usually holds weight here is that everything we know points at there being no in-game momentum whatsoever during the crash; that everything in Chapter 14 happens in crash death, not in the actual game.

But - and here's where this theory really takes off, I feel - there is one person and one person alone who is still, _actively_ , accessing the game's code during this time, and that's Aaron. Aaron is also explicitly experiencing crash death, meaning that timelines are jumping and other characters may come and go as it fits. So how does it work if Aaron is in-game, but also experiencing crash death?

Well, in this interpretation, that means Pryor is, as all the anti-Arie's have claimed for years, killing "Game Aaron".

...but _why?_

Don't forget what I had us establish in the beginning: that Pryor has seen this happen before. Echoppe explains to Aaron in a later flashback in Book Four, after the second Alpha Plexus crash, "in the bridge between the crash and the waking, he saw you, and he killed you. Just like he wished to kill me." This is not a condemnation of Pryor's actions, as many interpret! The difference here is that Aaron did not have a connection to the game prior to his crash death. This is also intentional in Pryor's design of the gambit. Pryor and Aaron clash over the fact that Aaron has been blocked at every opportunity from joining an in-game team. Tawnie and Rigby also argue because Tawnie isn't allowed to enter the game, but for Tawnie, it makes more functional sense - her immuno-compromised status makes her a severe liability to the team considering how the Faublood Plague spreads. No reason is ever given in canon for why Pryor blocks Aaron from this, and Aaron calls him out on three separate occassions in Books One and Two, at one point claiming that Pryor is "deliberately sabotaging" his "every chance at career advancement". But in Book Three, those accusations dry up. It's very sudden if you're looking for it. Aaron doesn't seem as antagonistic anymore, and in fact he hesitates a bit when Thein asks why he's not allowed in-game if he knows so much (Chapter 9). He says, then, "I just can't. There are reasons."

It's Echoppe's backstory that tells us the reason(s). Echoppe was a member of the first in-game Bio Plexus team, dispatched to take down the Faublood in its first incarnation. To do so she wrote and intiated the Ochwelian bypass. The code was transmitted while she was already in-game. And what did that do? It trapped her, killing her out-of-game body and consciousness. Why did it trap her? Because no one knew to intercept her in crash death and kill "Game Echoppe" before the bypass was complete. It's strongly hinted that none of the original team members - Echoppe, Pryor, Tawnie - knew this at the time, and in Chapter 5, Book Four, it's implied that Tawnie's obsessive research since then is what made it into a theory to be tested.

It's also strongly hinted that crash death timelines only converge and are cohabited when great trust already exists between the involved parties.

**TL;DR:** Pryor keeps ChaoTech's most gifted engineer at arm's-length from the game for years, until a second Ochwelian bypass can be planned. During this time, we can assume that Pryor only sees Aaron as a tool, an intended lamb to the slaughter despite the fact that ChaoTech wants nothing to do with another incident like that. Over the course of those years, though, Pryor develops feelings for Aaron, and eventually lets him in on the plan. Aaron agrees to go along with it, and they win Tawnie over to their side. How do they win Tawnie over to their side? By promising that Aaron won't suffer the same fate as Echoppe, that Pryor will do what has to be done in crash death and kill the Aaron that tries to fully implant himself into the game. And he'll be able to do that, and Tawnie knows he'll be able to do that, because she can see that great trust exists between them.

Arie is the remnant of Aaron, born on the game as a fabrication from the scraps of what the game tried to take. The game couldn't take Aaron completely - and Pryor is the one who made sure of that, brutally (well, Tawnie helped to, by keeping Aaron connected. Again, they couldn't have done it without her, and she wouldn't have helped unless she believed in their bond!).

The romantic implication is more nuanced than all that, because a lot of it is, indeed, subtextual. To break it down to the nuts and bolts of literary analysis for the purposes of this theory, think of it this way: it's not difficult to interpret Tawnie and Echoppe's relationship as romantic, even as a player/program duo. It's accepted as canon by many, and KTG has more or less confirmed this was intentional. Pryor saw everything that went wrong with Echoppe, and takes great pains to ensure the same thing doesn't happen to Aaron, but only because he actually has grown more than fond of him.

Pryor/Aaron is an analog for Tawnie/Echoppe

_***mic drop***_

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-11-22 08:31 am UTC (link)  
  
Jesus, Will. *slow clap* 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-11-22 08:40 am UTC (link)  
  
Okay. I have to hand it to you. I'm more convinced than I've ever been about this. At the very least, I'm convinced that Pryor's arc has a lot more substance, now. I actually kind of feel bad for the jerk after reading this. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 08:43 am UTC (link)  
  
He saved the world, Jack. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-11-22 08:45 am UTC (link)  
  
Hey, several people helped!

There's no way you can sit there and deny that Pryor Flaherty is a jerk. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 08:46 am UTC (link)  
  
That's totally fair. He is, and I also can't stand him half the time. Sorry, I'm feeling rambunctious after writing all that, so I sniped a bit. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-11-22 08:46 am UTC (link)  
  
:O :O :O :O 

Maybe I ship it now. And bonus, this means I can still ship Arie/Echoppe!! 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 08:49 am UTC (link)  
  
Arie/Echoppe is, in fact, a perfect companion ship to this theory! 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-11-22 08:50 am UTC (link)  
  
A gift that keeps on giving!!! 

  
  
  
**tattlefan**  
2004-11-22 08:54 am UTC (link)  
  
Impressively argued, but don't forget that Pryor could have been - and in my opinion was - manipulating Aaron's loneliness and isolation in order to gain his trust, so that he could do just this. Meaning this ship is built entirely on lies and duplicity. Makes me sick, honestly. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 08:59 am UTC (link)  
  
Again, if you read the entire post, that's where the literary analysis comes in. KTG's not one to throw in plot twists for the sake of twistiness. There are lots of posts that break down parallels in character arcs - that's a huge thing in FBI. Pryor/Aaron as Tawnie/Echoppe resolution is the sort of correspondant thread I'd expect to see from secondary characters. 

But don't trust me, I only have a degree in shit like this. 

  
  
  
**tattlefan**  
2004-11-22 08:56 am UTC (link)  
  
Then it's honestly even grosser to steal Tawnie's arc and make it about your gay ship. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 09:03 am UTC (link)  
  
I just remembered! I swore off arguing with you a long time ago, Freddie. Goodbye. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-11-22 09:04 am UTC (link)  
  
Not my ship, but not necessarily a ship I disagree with. I can absolutely see how they're boning down during the Ochwelian arc. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 09:09 am UTC (link)  
  
Oh, right after the meeting at Ochwelian is absolutely the first time they boned down. All that uncertainty and animosity finally breaking the dam? Sparks. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-11-22 09:10 am UTC (link)  
  
Like all good things in FBI, this also comes back to Tawnie/Echoppe, and I love it. Great post - thought-provoking. I'm digging the Theory tag, also.

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-11-22 09:15 am UTC (link)  
  
Maybe we shouldn't be trying to prove every ship and just enjoy the books. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-11-22 09:18 am UTC (link)  
  
Hey everybody, fun police is here. 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-11-22 09:19 am UTC (link)  
  
I hang out around here because I want to experience one fandom that doesn't devolve into ridiculous ship wars, but I guess that's too much to ask.

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-11-22 09:22 am UTC (link)  
  
We're going to war??? 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-11-22 09:25 am UTC (link)  
  
I've seen so many posts about ships recently, and there's less and less gen fic being posted to the archive. People must be getting either bored, more perverse, or both. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-11-22 09:26 am UTC (link)  
  
Which ship is perverse??? I probably need to check it out! It's definitely not this one! 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-11-22 09:28 am UTC (link)  
  
This thread is straying dangerously close to troll behavior on both sides; please be nice. 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-11-22 09:30 am UTC (link)  
  
D: D: Sorry!! I will be. (Can't speak for others) 

  
  
  
**argentinean20**  
2004-11-22 09:48 am UTC (link)  
  
Seems like recently this comm started going to hell. Everything's about ships now and it's sad. Wrong-minded. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 09:49 am UTC (link)  
  
Not everything is about ships - far from it. There are a lot of posts that aren't, actually. This is one theory that makes me happy to share with everyone, that's all. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-11-22 09:57 am UTC (link)  
  
Firstly: my inveterate thanks to Will for taking the time to put this lovely post together. Many know that Aaron/Pryor is my ship, but it's still interesting seeing such a minor pairing elevated to the status of full-on theorycrafting. I adored this post, and Will's explanatory style is as engaging as it is informative. <3

Now, then: I can't help seeing the criticism leveled at this post from others in the community, and I have some thoughts on that. It's as if this post, for all its auspicious gradiosity, has become the whipping boy for all recent ills of fandom. 

I, too, have noticed a rise in ship-oriented discourse. I don't believe that to be a bad thing, however. It's only natural that after many years with the same material, and only that same material, any fandom would encounter difficulty remaining a fresh and exciting place. Fanworks, of a transformative nature or not, will always churn through any active fandom. However, places such as this venerable community are full to the brim with fandom old guard - people well-versed in the canon and the fanon alike, eager to sink their teeth into something new within the familiar.

The Faublood Instance provides a unique opportunity for fans who engage with media in a transformative way. There are no romantic entanglements between characters in the canon (allusions and strong implications, as Will pointed out, are all that make it into the text, with Tawnie/Echoppe and Courtland/Rigby being the closest to "canon ships" in the series). Nevertheless, themes of love, trust, and interpersonal connection are the very lifeblood of the plot. 

Whereas some authors of late have attempted to hamstring the fandoms surrounding their works by disparaging or maligning the good-faith efforts of fans to expand and personalize the canon they have been given, KTG has been enthusiastically in support of the FBI fandom's efforts to engage critically and transformatively with his books. While I'm personally rather contentious by nature, and would engage where I pleased despite the author's wishes (I've dabbled in Anne Rice specifically because of her litigious outbursts), this fact urges me to consider it on the whole discourteous to fit this particular fandom into boxes of "right-minded" and "wrong-minded" fan behavior.

One more point, which may simply draw rifle-sight upon me from the trolls who've graced our presence, but I can't resist (I did mention being contentious by nature). Despite every restraint Roland Barthes would have me practice, I'm reminded again of the fact that KTG is a recently-open bisexual man who was closeted and practicing as a doctor in the United States during the AIDS crisis. There is much that informs the text of FBI that helps me understand his enthusiasm for fan interpretation as well as his conscious decision to portray _no_ romantic relationships openly, but rather behind veils of intention. 

There's a reason that the fandom for this series extends well beyond the heteronormative, and begs discussion of that fact.

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 10:00 am UTC (link)  
  
This is a mic drop in and of itself. Beautiful. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-11-22 10:10 am UTC (link)  
  
Just to add on to Hannibal's comment, not that it needs much support: when KTG talked at ICFA a couple of years back he said something along the lines of he really wanted everyone to see themselves, and all their life relationships, in the characters. That it wasn't always that way, but he saw how many different people wrote to him about identifying with different characters and hoping relationships went certain ways after Book One, and it actually was something he considered in the writing of Books Three and Four. 

  
  
  
**argentinean20**  
2004-11-22 10:12 am UTC (link)  
  
Source? 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-11-22 10:13 am UTC (link)  
  
I was literally there. 

  
  
  
**argentinean20**  
2004-11-22 10:14 am UTC (link)  
  
Of course, and without a video or transcript I'm not believing that. You all sound delusional, and I don't believe KTG would pander to fans like that. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-11-22 10:20 am UTC (link)  
  
Knock it off. 

  
  
  
**argentinean20**  
2004-11-22 10:21 am UTC (link)  
  
What are you afraid of? I'm just trying to have a conversation. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 10:24 am UTC (link)  
  
Should I just take this post down? It doesn't seem like it's worth the trouble. 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-11-22 10:25 am UTC (link)  
  
No, don't take it down. It's the sort of theory post we should be encouraging, no matter whether people agree or not. 

**argentinean20** and **crab_in_mittens** , I'm referring you to rule #4 in our Community Rules and asking you to keep it civil.

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-11-22 10:26 am UTC (link)  
  
And if someone wants to post a 10-page screed about why they ship, say, Courtland with his dog? 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-11-22 10:27 am UTC (link)  
  
No one's doing any sick shit like that. You're being spurious on purpose to sow some discord. It's annoying, and it's straying really close to hateful. 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-11-22 10:27 am UTC (link)  
  
Just mark my words, your 100%-tolerance strategy is going to backfire. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-11-22 10:28 am UTC (link)  
  
I'm sorry, wait.

Explain something for me.

Did you just liken an entirely plausible, canon-ambiguous m/m ship to _bestiality?_

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-11-22 10:25 am UTC (link)  
  
I've frozen replies on this post. Everyone please behave. If you try to take this conversation to other posts, you're banned. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone wants a quick-reference guide, here are the characters as their social media names: 
> 
> Will Graham: panopuply (LJ), WolfTrapped (AIM)  
> Hannibal Lecter: antikythera (LJ), DrLecter (AIM)  
> Jack Crawford: courtlaaand (LJ), Jackourtland (AIM)  
> Alana Bloom: plexusest (LJ), HiddenPlexus (AIM)  
> Beverly Katz: katzpyjamas (LJ), ??? (AIM)  
> Jimmy Price: jprice24 (LJ), JPriceisRight (AIM)  
> Brain Zeller: meta1_knuckles (LJ), ??? (AIM)  
> Frederick Chilton: yhoriun_tree (LJ), ??? (AIM)  
> Freddie Lounds: tattlefan (LJ), ??? (AIM)  
> Abel Gideon: xtwilight_faultx (LJ), ??? (AIM)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (DJ Khaled voice) Another one. The immediate fallout from the events of the previous chapter were at first meant to be part of that chapter, then I saw how long it would be, and decided against it. So, extra chapter this weekend!
> 
> I've added a couple of tags, and also changed the rating to Mature. This fic is meant to be a slow build to an Explicit rating, eventually, but I always feel shitty putting that rating on a fic like 20 chapters before the text catches up to it. This fic is a slow build on everything, including the Fandom Intrigue™. 
> 
> A few lines in this chapter made me stop what I was doing and walk away because I couldn't deal with the absurdity of one Hannibal Lecter being a fandom pied piper. 
> 
> And so, the plot thicc-ens.

  
**DrLecter:** I take it you're also still online  
 **WolfTrapped:** That's what AIM says, doesn't it?  
 **DrLecter:** You have been known to go essentially offline without logging out of the application, I find.  
 **WolfTrapped:** Oh, yeah. Sorry. Of course.   
**WolfTrapped:** And yes, still online. No way I'm sleeping now. I've got work tomorrow but sleep is _not_ happening now that I'm this worked up.   
**DrLecter:** Indeed.  
 **DrLecter:** Interesting that Chilton decided to freeze the post only once you retaliated.   
**WolfTrapped:** I don't know how to feel about that. I'm trying to be rational and consider that he saw things getting out of hand and pulled the trigger while he had the chance.  
 **DrLecter:** It would appear that our new friend argentinean20 is fairly new to LJ. crab_in_mittens has a bit more tenure. I'd take a closer look through their journals, but both appear to be friends locked.   
**DrLecter:** Are you there?  
 **WolfTrapped:** Yes, sorry. I've got seven discrete conversations going right now.   
**DrLecter:** My apologies. Shall I bow out? I don't want to add to the distractions.   
**WolfTrapped:** No, no. I'm glad you're here, I want to talk to you.   
**DrLecter:** Very well.   
**DrLecter:** Do tell if there's anything I might be interested to know, Will.  
 **WolfTrapped:** Alana's upset because Chilton's messaging her - he's nervous that they need to update the Community Rules to exclude anything explicitly illegal, or have content guidelines, or something like that. Alana's trying to talk sense into him that we've never had a problem with it in the past and shouldn't assume the worst. So I'm also talking to Chilton, assuring him that I agree and he shouldn't overreact. Jack's on the offensive and he's doing what you already mentioned doing - investigating their journals.   
**DrLecter:** Is there anything you can truly assist with in this?   
**WolfTrapped:** You know what, no. I don't know why I'm stepping in like this, it's not like I'm part of the mod squad.   
**DrLecter:** You have a good name in the community.   
**WolfTrapped:** Do I? LOL  
 **DrLecter:** Object if you're so inclined, but I've seen your name command respect.   
**DrLecter:** Besides, it was your post that, for better or for worse, catalyzed these unfortunate circumstances.   
**WolfTrapped:** I was really looking forward to hearing peoples' reactions. I spent a very long time drafting that theory.   
**DrLecter:** Having been there, I'm aware. And I'm sorry, Will. It begs repeating that it is a wonderful read.   
**WolfTrapped:** Thank you. <3   
**WolfTrapped:** Okay. I think I've extricated myself from all the other convos. I told them all I'm going to bed. I set myself to Invisible - we can keep talking.  
 **DrLecter:** What was it you wanted to talk to me about?  
 **WolfTrapped:** Oh. Nothing in particular actually. I just wanted to talk. You're like a calming… thing… for me these days.   
**WolfTrapped:** Sorry, my good words are all tapped out.   
**DrLecter:** I'm honored, as usual.   
**WolfTrapped:** It keeps making me upset. I got _so angry_ sitting there watching those comment threads unfold. I'm actually glad Chilton froze the post when he did. I feel like I was about to go off.   
**DrLecter:** What's motivating that anger, do you think?   
**WolfTrapped:** The undercurrent of flippant superiority, in general.   
**DrLecter:** Do you believe these trolls are approaching their arguments from a place of bigotry?  
 **WolfTrapped:** Maybe not argentinean20, but crab_in_mittens, yes. Intolerance, at the very least. After that last comment I really wanted to… I don't know.   
**DrLecter:** You don't know?   
**WolfTrapped:** I felt the physical urge to do _something_ about it. I know it was just adrenaline. I can't decide now whether I wanted to whoop their ass or go run a mile or channel the energy elsewhere.   
**WolfTrapped:** Kinda want to go make out with a dude just to spite them.   
**DrLecter:** You know, Will, related to that, there's something I've been meaning to ask you.   
**WolfTrapped:** Uh-oh.   
**DrLecter:** I realize that despite our lengthy discussions on the matter in reference to fictional characters, I'm still feeling in the dark where it concerns your sexuality. To shed some light on the matter would help frame certain conversations, certain assumptions, in context.   
**WolfTrapped:** Well, considering how long it's been I wouldn't really call it a sexuality in practice. >.>  
 **WolfTrapped:** I'm bi.   
**DrLecter:** As am I. Yet again, we prove to be like-minded.  
 **WolfTrapped:** Oh! Cool.   
**WolfTrapped:** Surely you're involved, though. I know so little about your life off the internet, but I've always just assumed you were married.   
**DrLecter:** I am not.   
**DrLecter:** I am quite single, in fact.   
**WolfTrapped:** Oh.   
**WolfTrapped:** Mind if I ask what you meant by this helping to frame certain assumptions in context?  
 **DrLecter:** Not at all. I plan for my current fic to be intensely explicit in many chapters, and if you're to be my beta reader, it's a rare pleasure to have the critical attention of someone else personally and intimately familiar with such details.   
**WolfTrapped:** If I may say, I'm very excited for new smut by you in particular.   
**DrLecter:** I put the utmost care into writing it, so of course I appreciate that.   
**WolfTrapped:** I've reread Duty Unavoidable so many times at this point, and every time I wish there were more.   
**DrLecter:** I hadn't presumed you to have such a fondness for the salacious, Will. This delights me.   
**DrLecter:** Was that a thinly veiled reference to Duty Unavoidable, in your comment to Jimmy earlier?  
 **WolfTrapped:** Oh, about them boning down at Ochwelian? Yes.  
 **DrLecter:** It's a pet headcanon of mine, and to see someone else proselytize for it made me strangely giddy.   
**WolfTrapped:** The way Aaron talks to Thein about Pryor before they leave says it all. He's got the languid confidence of someone who got railed within an inch of his life.   
**DrLecter:** Surely I didn't write it with such a violent connotation. ;)   
**WolfTrapped:** WELL. It was a BIT violent.   
**DrLecter:** Intense, rough sex, certainly. Specifically violent sex would be a horse of a different color. One I'd be curious to explore.   
**WolfTrapped:** Maybe in that promised "Pryor as Devourer" bit?  
 **DrLecter:** Perhaps, perhaps not.   
**DrLecter:** Having read your past stories, I myself would be interested to see what you could bring to such a scene.   
**WolfTrapped:** I don't think that's my style.   
**DrLecter:** I'd beg to differ.   
**WolfTrapped:** I have a feeling that you're once again going to tell me something about myself that I don't see.   
**DrLecter:** If you'll permit me. :)   
**WolfTrapped:** LOL. Please, doctor, proceed.   
**DrLecter:** Your writing style is tactile. It's sensory, and in that it's quite sensual. You tend toward the first person POV so you can better tap into these characters, and where it's an intractable POV for many writers, you seem to thrive and excel in it. You categorize "Take Me Somewhere Nice," for instance, as "fluff." However, in the way you describe certain things - Tawnie caressing Echoppe's newly washed clothes, for instance, or the way their skin touches as she leans over to turn the lamp off in the second chapter - there is intense eroticism. It's an almost Victorian eroticism, which may be due in part to your academic background in the annals of classic literature. It makes me wonder whether you view sex in fiction as an intrinsically obscene thing. All you would need to do is add certain actions to what you describe, and your existing style would be a slipstream for introducing the explicitly sexual.   
**WolfTrapped:** 1\. I don't view it as intrinsically obscene, but I suppose you might be on to something about my literary background informing my own boundaries regarding what I do and don't feel comfortable writing. 2. I don't think I could write explicit femslash and feel genuine about it, having little frame of reference for how that is in real life, so I don't think Tawnie and Echoppe would go there in my fics. 3. I can't believe you remember excerpts from TMSN so vividly. Even I can't remember that.   
**DrLecter:** I've reread your fics many times. They're uniquely beautiful. Again, it's rare to find one who wields the first person POV so exquisitely, but I keep finding that you are rare in many ways, Will.   
**DrLecter:** Can I extrapolate from your objection to writing femslash that, although you can deeply identify with and realistically describe any number of character actions, you would only feel comfortable venturing into the explicitly sexual on the basis of things that you, yourself, have experienced?   
**WolfTrapped:** That's fair, yes.   
**DrLecter:** Would you ever consider RP, Will?  
 **WolfTrapped:** I've never considered it before. It seems very personal, and I always assumed I'd need to form some indeterminate connection with another writer before I'd think about it. You called first person POV intractable, but by that metric RP seems downright stylistically chaotic.   
**DrLecter:** I strongly urge you to consider it, if nothing else then as a stepping stone to expanding your fic-writing horizons. Sometimes it helps to have a partner-in-crime, as you put it.   
**WolfTrapped:** I never even joined the_rp_plexus. I guess I'll do that, and poke around a bit.   
**DrLecter:** RP at a public community level is what some might consider an intermediate stage. Most start with private RP, to get their bearings.   
**WolfTrapped:** I'm reading the comm rules now. Only one player per character? That feels like a waste.   
**DrLecter:** That's the common accepted format of most RP communities, yes.   
**WolfTrapped:** I can see why people gravitate to private RP, then.   
**WolfTrapped:** Oh no, Chilton is Aaron?  
 **DrLecter:** Indeed.   
**WolfTrapped:** Whyyyyyyyy  
 **DrLecter:** His interactions with my Pryor never seem to go as I would expect them to, as you may well imagine. In the current game, Pryor is sadly between romantic partnerships. Not that I'd find this unusual for the character - he's difficult to trust, and I like to believe I play him with a level of Delphic ambiguity that frustrates other players. Alana's Echoppe has been exceedingly tolerant of my capriciousness in-game, and so our characters have formed a satisfying platonic bond.   
**DrLecter:** Due to this (and what I assume is a lack of poetic comprehension), Chilton's Aaron also considers me his rival.   
**WolfTrapped:** Oh my god, LOL. He's really obsessed with Echoppe, isn't he.   
**DrLecter:** One couldn't blame him; not entirely.   
**WolfTrapped:** True.   
**WolfTrapped:** So are we beating around the bush, here?   
**DrLecter:** Tell me, Will, what bush would that be?  
 **WolfTrapped:** Maybe I should try RP with you.  
 **DrLecter:** With me? I didn't consider that when I asked, but I'm exhilarated by the prospect.   
**WolfTrapped:** I don't know who else I'd feel comfortable toeing those waters with. Especially if it's for the purposes of honing my smut skills. Aside from Alana, who obviously doesn't want dicks in or near Echoppe, everyone still thinks of me as the domestic fix-it fic writer who has everyone living in a Saramassian cottage in Like Spinning Plates.   
**DrLecter:** If you were to tease the sexual out of even that scenario, Will, one could argue the chances of polyamorous trysts are high in that cottage.   
**WolfTrapped:** LOL.  
 **WolfTrapped:** YOU could argue that. You WOULD argue that.   
**DrLecter:** I have an open mind.   
**WolfTrapped:** You've got a dirty mind.   
**DrLecter:** A bit, when I feel like revealing it. ;) I believe you do, too, though.  
 **WolfTrapped:** Just don't expect me to jump into it right away.   
**DrLecter:** Of course not. I wouldn't dream of that.

* * *

**WolfTrapped:** I lied, I'm sorry. I'm still online.   
**HiddenPlexus:** Will go to sleep!!! You have work!!  
 **WolfTrapped:** So do you!!!  
 **WolfTrapped:** I've been up talking to Hannibal.   
**HiddenPlexus:** Yeah, duh, of course.  
 **WolfTrapped:** What do you mean   
**HiddenPlexus:** I'm not surprised you're the last to know, but the two of you have been joined at the hip recently.   
**WolfTrapped:** omg  
 **WolfTrapped:** what a way to put it.  
 **HiddenPlexus:** So what compelled you to message me again.   
**WolfTrapped:** Alana do you think he likes me.   
**HiddenPlexus:** Will.....................  
 **WolfTrapped:** Nononononono don't get me wrong, I don't want this to be a thing, I'm just wondering.  
 **WolfTrapped:** I think he likes me and   
**WolfTrapped:** No never mind, I think I like HIM and I'm probably just projecting again   
**HiddenPlexus:** WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
 **WolfTrapped:** DON'T YELL AT ME  
 **WolfTrapped:** AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH  
 **HiddenPlexus:** OMG  
 **WolfTrapped:** I'm logging off for real now  
 **HiddenPlexus:** Can you have even one intense friendship without doing this, Will.   
**WolfTrapped:** I DON'T KNOW  
 **HiddenPlexus:** To answer your question: no, I don't think he likes you, not like that. As I said before, he's just extremely charming and flirtatious.   
**HiddenPlexus:** But I didn't expect you to like him so much.   
**WolfTrapped:** I'm probably just lonely, you're right.   
**HiddenPlexus:** Before you log off, can I share you one thing about earlier tonight that Jack discovered?   
**WolfTrapped:** Okay fine.   
**HiddenPlexus:** Both of the new trolls that joined the comm are LJ friends with Chilton and Gideon.   
**WolfTrapped:** Hm.   
**WolfTrapped:** Hmmmmmm.   
**HiddenPlexus:** Doesn't prove anything, but it does look suspicious.   
**WolfTrapped:** That's too much to think about right now. I'm going to bed.   
**HiddenPlexus:** Good. <3

* * *

**WolfTrapped:** I think I'm about ready to sleep, finally. Thanks for talking to me. And I look forward to trying out the RP thing soon.   
**WolfTrapped:** Knowing myself, it'll be a slow start for me.   
**DrLecter:** I assure you, I'll be gentle ;)   
**WolfTrapped:** LOL  
 **DrLecter:** Sleep well, Will.   
**WolfTrapped:** You, too.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can relate to Alana Bloom sometimes, because as I type things like "Current music: Tristan und Isolde", I too want to dump Hannibal Lecter's books and shove him into a locker for being a giant nerd.
> 
> Read on and marvel as Will Graham's self-awareness begins to slough off like so much shoddily constructed facade.

H. ( **antikythera** )  
@ 2004-12-01 at 04:06:10pm UTC

 **Current mood:** satisfied  
**Current music:** Tristan und Isolde

**Fic Preview: "Decimate" [FBI Locked]**

Good day. Has it really been over nine months since I took up Alana's invitation to read these fantastic books and join the community she regards so highly? It would seem that, yes, my gestation is complete. I've already received some unexpected attention for my fanfiction offerings, and have continued to cut my teeth on transforming the rich and layered canon provided, which brings me to this day. I'm preparing to begin posting a story I'm exceptionally proud of, now a quarter complete and fast approaching its premiere date over at the OmniPlexus Archive.

It's entitled "Decimate", and like many of my works it's of the Aaron/Pryor persuasion. The story is a bit of a departure for me, however, as I find myself venturing further into the realm of the fantastic and surreal than I've dared to tread before. Lucky for me, I've had a companion on that journey. 

It was over the course of conversation with Will that I began to wonder what potential for poetic exploration there was in the fabrication of crash death timelines. I asked him, and I asked myself: how many ways, and with how many different names does Aaron view Pryor? What truths might it reveal for all of those different personae to meet him in crash death? It was Will who asked me, then: how would Pryor see Aaron, in turn? How would these two experience their confrontations and conversations while wearing different masks for one another? 

There are ten distinct chapters of the fic (hence the title), and I've forgone a framing device in favor of a more canon-faithful _in media res_ approach. 

As I sit here now, by my own admission glutting on my self-satisfaction in writing this, I can't find words quite specific enough to thank Will for his part in it, and indeed for his part in guiding me to a new, headier appreciation for this fandom. 

With no further ado, beneath the cut you'll find the excerpt. 

_Excerpt from "III. Sovereign"_

The palace, architected out of time itself, loomed a short way off the ground, breadth enough for the Emperor-General to walk beneath when it titled at the sun. On the axis of the War's great wheel the castle turned, to strike the Bell of Fray each evening and return to stanchion by morning. By morning so the Emperor-General returned victorious, trailing blood from the hand that held the heart. 

Thirty-seven steps up the companionway once again, and thirty-seven drums to announce him, throbbing deep drums like the phantom of a heartbeat, would it yet give life to the still-warm saturninity in his hand. 

The chamber of the throne bloomed dehiscent, great wooden eaves fanning out for his approach, revealing the mosaic pathway, a river of turquoise and celestine cutting swathe beneath the cloister vault and his feet, all the way to the dais where the Consort waited, as the Consort always did. 

A blood red jewel for each day the Fray's great bell called the Emperor-General away was affixed upon his flesh, attached as a scintillating tribute to his beauty, to his avarice. That the Consort could never set foot on the battlefield was decree of the eidolon, indeed the phantom godhead whose waking turned the wheel. If he did, it was written on pages and bones that Fray itself would fall to him, and the palace would topple, and all souls that did not answer that final bell would be eaten. 

The Emperor-General bore him his chains, and lauded him, and loved him, and beheld his face every morning when the finials stood upright toward the sun again. Every morning with a new heart in his hand, the benefaction of another night's battle. 

Sanguine and nubile, the Consort draped across the throne of Chaos, but the throne of Chaos did not suit him for all its angles and hardness. The onyx of the great seat was dull and cold and careful, not at all like the young man lifting his head to smirk in hungry salutation, a circlet of cinders crooked on his crown; devilish in red jewels and the barest drape of silk besides, modesty a long-forgotten formality he'd discarded when he learned it could not be wielded. 

And he was beautiful, more beautiful each morning as the Emperor-General beheld him, a corona of dawn breaking through the window behind, catching every crimson facet ornamenting him. 

Barefoot, with never a need to be anything but, he stepped down to the edge of the dias - as far as his chains would allow him - and sank to its surface. Prone before the offering but princely despite, inspiring still in the Emperor-General a certain stir of unease, for as long as he went unsated he was liable to turn his hunger elsewhere. Without a word, however, the ritual commenced as it always did. The heart, proffered, and the heart, consumed. 

A breath hitched in the Emperor-General's throat as his woebegone warrior knelt before him, eating the heart from his hands. Every morning his eyes saw new again, making the sight more complete, more resplendant than before: those lips slippery red, stubble sticky with blood as his jaw moved determinedly, the sucking and tearing sound of rended muscle, and beyond that the fibrous plane of his back, spine and shoulder blades and carmine jewels moving in a constant symphony with the feast. 

Finally, the spidery fingers grasping his hand and licking anything left from the palm, drawing his hot lips over every digit until the Emperor-General finally gasped, very nearly fearing the scrape of teeth against his knuckles: "Aaron." 

The Consort's long-lashed eyelids drooped ecstatically, and he pulled the open palm to cup his bloodied face. Sumptuously, he breathed against it: "Please." 

"No." Though he would drink mercury to understand even a modicum of the mysteries that spun and grew inside that wolfish mind, he knew that plea. "You may not fight. I do this to keep you safe." 

"Safe from what?" 

"Safe for the saving." 

A warning played soft upon the Consort's lips as he turned his face from the hand that held it to look up at the Emperor-General. "I would turn the world you'd have me save." 

"And you turn this palace, instead." 

* * *

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-01 04:41 pm UTC (link)  
This excerpt is awesomesauce, and I can't wait for the full story. How do you do words like that? Who does your imagination and are they taking new appointments? 

It's also so interesting to me how you manage to make these grandiose and abstract concepts so deeply sensual. What I didn't expect to read today was a lofty, unsettling scene about eating a heart that's framed like a blowjob (I was supposed to think of that, right? That's not just me?). I like to feel intellectual when reading porn, so this makes me happy 

Oh, and I see what I believe is a reference to "Ava Adore" ("...he would drink mercury to understand even a modicum of the mysteries"), and if it's unintentional then you need to listen to that song immediately. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 04:57 pm UTC (link)  
Thank you, Jimmy. I provide no explanation for how my mind works, as it's constantly changing. I'm glad I'm able to provide some reprieve from the usual fanfiction expectations, though. 

This time around I was also lucky enough to have a muse guiding me. Will has his own flair for the sensual, and he pointed the course in some ways for this chapter and others. 

As for the song reference: astute! I supposed that all of my references couldn't be based on dead languages or books no one else has read, so I threw in something a bit more contemporary. When Will was beta reading the first draft of this chapter he mentioned that it reminded him of that song, and I was taken by the lyrics particularly. 

As postscript: Yes, you were supposed to think of that. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 05:07 pm UTC (link)  
0_0 Don't expose me as a Smashing Pumpkins fan to people I respect!!! 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-01 05:18 pm UTC (link)  
Will, we already know. "Muzzle" is on the dream FBI Soundtrack you posted. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 05:33 pm UTC (link)  
What the. What. That post is over a year old, isn't it? You just dredged up a memory here. Why do you remember this??? 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-01 05:38 pm UTC (link)  
I may or may not have recreated that soundtrack on a mix CD for myself >.> You know I can't resist ELO. 

(sorry for the tangent, H!) 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-01 06:06 pm UTC (link)  
:O Wowowowoowwowwwwww 

Gonna need fanart of Aaron wearing only jewels, a cinder crown, and a bit of silk, STAT. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 06:09 pm UTC (link)  
He is also wearing chains. ;) 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-01 06:16 pm UTC (link)  
o_______0 We need more fanartists around here. Someone contact Bedelia and tell her to join the group. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 06:20 pm UTC (link)  
I don't think Bedelia would slum it and join our group LOL 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 06:25 pm UTC (link)  
She may. Once the chapter is posted I'll make sure she takes a glance its way. You may yet get your wish for fanart, Beverly, but all in due time. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-01 06:36 pm UTC (link)  
You know Bedelia??? :O :O :O *starstruck* 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 06:41 pm UTC (link)  
We are well acquainted, yes. She's not nearly as unapproachable as some seem to believe. She is discreet about her online dealings for career reasons, but she is a lovely person. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 06:43 pm UTC (link)  
You just know everybody, huh? 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 06:47 pm UTC (link)  
I try :) 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-01 06:52 pm UTC (link)  
Y'all are cute. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 06:53 pm UTC (link)  
Bev what is that supposed to meeeeeeeeeaaaan 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-01 06:58 pm UTC (link)  
Bev ships it. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-01 07:05 pm UTC (link)  
*whispers* noooooo 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-01 07:24 pm UTC (link)  
NO!!! XD XD XD That's not what I said at all. I just think they're funny. 

(sotto) _Not that they couldn't cosplay Aaron and Pryor if we ever do get that Dragon*Con meetup going…_ (/sotto) 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-01 07:28 pm UTC (link)  
A joke! A mere jest! I offer a jocular pittance to the assembled throng, and lo! I have been denied appreciation for my riposte! 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-12-01 07:37 pm UTC (link)  
Hannibal ghostwrote this comment 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 07:39 pm UTC (link)  
I'd say that was more Chaucherian than I tend to be. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-01 07:42 pm UTC (link)  
Hang on. 

(Looks up "Chaucerian" in the dictionary) 

Okay, you're right. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-01 08:00 pm UTC (link)  
Hanniibal, this is beautiful. You've captured something about their relationship via this alternate universe vision of them that's raw and disturbing, but in all the right ways. Between the lines of this, I'm getting the side of Aaron that wrote the Parrish program to be his proxy in the game. Parrish is the most deadly NPC of all, and that fits, because Aaron wants to be an avenging force SO badly, and he channels a lot of that into his work. 

I'm captivated by the imagery of a palace that turns on its axis. I know this was meant to be surreal, so I'm not going to ask dumb questions about it, but I do want to know: is the palace meant to represent the game? 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 08:08 pm UTC (link)  
As always, thank you for your salient insights, Alana. My meanings have found purchase right where I intended. 

Feel free to interpret as you see fit! However, my authorial intent was that the domain beyond the palace - everywhere Aaron as Consort was not allowed to venture, was representative of the game. The palace, for all its strangeness, is ChaoTech itself. Hence he sits on the throne there, despite the Emperor's title. 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-12-01 08:39 pm UTC (link)  
*Tyra Banks voice* Cannibalism… but make it fashion. 

Seriously this is so good, though. Right now I'm losing my mind over here trying to puzzle out what the 37 steps represent, because there are only 12 Faugates at _most_ , and the Tempest Code was 49 lines long. I know this number isn't arbitrary - someone help!

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 08:48 pm UTC (link)  
I'll give you a hint: what does Alpha Plexus see anytime someone comes back from the game? 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-12-01 08:59 am UTC (link)  
Holy shit, it's the number of letters in "Please stand by, disconnecting from Faugate". LMAO, that's over the line and kind of brilliant. WTF. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-01 10:20 pm UTC (link)  
Top shelf shit here, even from my perspective as a non-slasher. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-01 10:28 pm UTC (link)  
Oh, that simple turn of phrase. What a gulf of difference there is between a non-slasher and an anti-slasher. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 10:33 pm UTC (link)  
Right? Especially right now… 

  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-01 10:40 pm UTC (link)  


Well, this fic is definitely making the front page of OPA when it's posted, so that whole anti-slash crowd isn't going to like it one bit. Everyone break out your flame-retardent suits! 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 10:41 pm UTC (link)  
Maybe if they put as much effort into their fic as Hannibal put into this, we could talk. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-01 10:48 pm UTC (link)  
I wouldn't take sides - that is, I don't WANT to take sides - but it seems to pop up in every thread lately, somehow. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 10:53 pm UTC (link)  
I guess this was bound to happen to some extent as the fandom grew, but… *rubs forehead* I hate it! 

Hannibal, who all's on this filter? I want to be sure I don't have to slash and burn all my comments, LOL. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 10:57 pm UTC (link)  
It's a very short list, much like yours. The mods of thefbi, yourself, Beverly, Jimmy, and Brian. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 10:59 pm UTC (link)  
Mine isn't quite that short anymore. I expanded a little bit recently to avoid some urges of cliquishness. I'm trying to be conscious of that now. If someone seems cool in the fandom and we talk a few times, I'll probably add them to the filter. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-01 11:04 pm UTC (link)  
I see. So the inner circle has moved to my journal, then? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 11:11 pm UTC (link)  
-_- I still take umbrage with that term. We're not an inner circle. We're more like an Outer Square or something. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-01 11:16 pm UTC (link)  
OUTER SQUARE!!! I love it. XD XD 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-01 11:23 pm UTC (link)  
Hey that means Chilton's in this group! Hey Chilton what do you think of the excerpt? :) 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-02 01:09 am UTC (link)  
It's fine. 

* * *

  
**WolfTrapped:** It went over well :) I'm glad.  
**DrLecter:** The excerpt went over well. We have yet to see how the fic proper catches their eyes.  
**WolfTrapped:** People are gonna love it.  
**WolfTrapped:** I need to start writing again. I miss that feeling.  
**DrLecter:** Indeed, you should.  
**DrLecter:** I'm finishing up a few things right now, but you'll have my full attention shortly if you'd like to continue our last scene.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'd like that.  
**WolfTrapped:** I was actually thinking as I read that excerpt you chose, how different that scene in particular is from canon Pryor/Aaron  
**WolfTrapped:** (I'm typing my thoughts as you're AFK, no need to reply)  
**WolfTrapped:** I thought "I'm in our last three RP scenes playing this dude as the giant geek he is, making pop culture references and being overexcited about artificial intelligence, but here I am reading about him chowing down on a heart, looking like a harem girl or something."  
**WolfTrapped:** Alana made a good point, though: he really does have an undercurrent of cruelty, doesn't he? Not in the same way Pryor does, obviously. But it's there. I wonder if he created Parrish hoping it would impress Pryor.  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh shit, I wonder if he created Parrish HOPING he would take out Spark in-game? Being jealous and all that.  
**WolfTrapped:** Sooooo what if I start playing Aaron as a jealous brat?  
**DrLecter:** If you did, it would delight me no end. :)  
**WolfTrapped:** It's a fun dynamic, certainly. I have ideas now.  
**DrLecter:** As opposed to previously?  
**WolfTrapped:** You said it yourself: I was finding my feet, still. I think I'm getting the hang of it.  
**DrLecter:** Ever a quick study, you are.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm still not quite at the point of eating a heart and playing Consort Aaron, but who knows where jealousy will lead our current storyline.  
**DrLecter:** Who knows, indeed.  
**DrLecter:** Lead on, Will.  
**WolfTrapped:** Okay! Let me find where we left off and paste it in here.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate making charts at work. I didn't necessarily enjoy making them here, either, but it's all for the love of the dumb fic.

**DrLecter:** "It's not like I can't plainly see how much you want to kiss me right now," Pryor says simply, hoping that he isn't treating the moment too irreverently. "You're making that face you make when you want to say something in a meeting, but you're reminding yourself to play it cool and not interrupt anyone. You're hungry, but you're holding back." He fingers Aaron's chin and shows his teeth in a grin. "It's okay," he whispers. "I've been wondering if that might have been what this was about. But even I didn't want to flatter myself that much." He lets the grin be replaced by a halfway serious face, and breathes deeply. Reaching up, he grasps Aaron's hand, loosening it from his shirt-front to hold it palm-up. They look at each other for a very long time. He doesn't want to intimidate Aaron so much that he might deny the possibility. But he doesn't want to leave any further action in the young man's hands, either. The moment is distilled to a question: "If I told you I wanted to, also… then would you finally do it?"  
**WolfTrapped:** Aaron nods, not able to answer right away as the horrible, anxious knot in his stomach releases suddenly, leaving him a bit woozy, a bit overwhelmed by his own emotions. His heart is pounding in his chest, and his chest is rising to Pryor in spite of himself. Realizing this, he takes a deep breath before curling his other hand into a fist and punching it sharply into Pryor's shoulder. "Jerk. I can't believe you're going to make me say it." He can finally raise his head again, and he looks at Pryor and bites his lip. "I want to. I will." They're already incredibly close, so Aaron doesn't have to lean in much further. Their lips touch for the first time. Nervously, he almost pulls away, unsure of how long is too long to hold the kiss, unsure of where to put his hands or whether to open his eyes.  
**DrLecter:** His lips are pleasant, not at all discordant with Pryor's preconceived notions. Of course, he wants to tell Aaron that he's thought about doing this, that he's wondered what it might be like, and that he's played the scene a hundred times over in his head, but it all comes out in a tangle of barely-articulated mumbles as their lips part. "I wanted it to be like that. Sweet. Unexpected. What did you want?" He wants to kiss him again, but instead just touches the dark, messy curls of Aaron's hair. Trying not to linger too long, he touches the collar of his shirt as an alternative, and clears his throat. "We've worked together for three years, and somehow..." he lets his words fade out, not knowing how to end the sentence. Surely, a line has been crossed. It's perfectly clear to both of them. But there's a certain giddiness beneath it that Pryor knows Aaron must be feeling, too. He wants to hear words from the other man, an answer to his question. He waits for it, not denying him any of the nearness he needs.  
**WolfTrapped:** Aaron did not expect an interrogation, even such a gentle one, and his first instinct is to be contrary. "I don't know… I guess I was always waiting for you to make a move so that I could absolve myself of the responsibility." He leans his head down, tentatively, until his head is resting lightly on Pryor's shoulder. He breathes in the starched linen smell of his shirt, and finally acquaints himself with the unique smell of _him_ redolent just beneath it. His arm snakes around Pryor's waist clumsily, not holding him tightly. Only wanting to be close. "I told myself I wouldn't tell you, because you'd use it against me. But I wanted to. I really wanted to." He straightens up and raises his hand to the arm of Pryor's eyeglasses, touching them lightly.  
**DrLecter:** Preening at the attention, Pryor smiles. "I've been cruel. But I've been fair. What I said to you earlier, I meant that. I don't want anyone else on this project, on this team. If you walk out, yes, surely, people will die. But..." He considers that what he is about to say will sound like a lie, coming from him. His talent at manipulation runs too deep, and if Aaron disbelieves him it's entirely justified. He puts no affect on the words, and simply states them for the fact they convey: "You'd also break my heart."  
**WolfTrapped:** A bitter laugh shakes Aaron's chest and his eyes roll halfway. Taking Pryor at face value is something he's not prepared to do, and certainly won't be getting used to anytime soon. "You don't need to lay it on thick, I promise. You're already kissing me. Spare the Wuthering Heights crap for now."  
**DrLecter:** He considers defending himself. He decides against it, and adjusts their heads until they're looking at one another. "Tell me, have I been so cruel, really, for wanting to keep you here?"  
**WolfTrapped:** "Yes," Aaron hisses.  
**DrLecter:** "But that's not why you were angry earlier. This isn't about career prospects or what good you can do in the world with your talents."  
**WolfTrapped:** "No." He's petulant, dizzy with adrenaline and libido both, and not content to hold back. "You chose her. Of all people, it was her."  
**DrLecter:** "You don't like working with Dr. Rigby?"  
**WolfTrapped:** "She knows you. And I'm not sure how I feel about how well she knows you."  
**DrLecter:** Pryor is not about to apologize for this. In fact, the admission tugs the corners of his mouth into a sly smile as he hears the desperate jealousy in Aaron's voice. "I want to kiss you again." And he does - another chaste kiss, at first. But he feels long fingers curling on the fabric at his waist, and his lips part slightly.  
**WolfTrapped:** Immediately, Aaron's fingers tighten, pulling the shirt loose in his excitement. He draws in the barest breath before opening his lips at Pryor's suggestion and allowing his mouth to be explored more thoroughly. He's leaning fully back against the whiteboard, and he knows notes are being smudged and erased beneath his weight. He doesn't care. For the first time in as long as he can seem to remember, he doesn't care about anything in the lab that isn't living. Living, breathing, warm, and kissing him hotly.  
**WolfTrapped:** ((Holy shit, check the comm))  
**DrLecter:** ((What is it?))  
**WolfTrapped:** ((We've been building to this damn first kiss for almost a month, you know I wouldn't interrupt this unless it was important. Go look, I can't summarize it.))

* * *

Adrienne ( **yayar00t** ) wrote in **thefbi**  
@ 2004-12-18 at 02:27:05am UTC

 **Current mood:** contemplative  
**Current music:** Yeah Yeah Yeahs

**[Discussion] Fanfic Statistics at the OPA, 2000 - 2004**

I'm new to LJ, but I've been a fan of FBI for a few years now. I first discovered the series in high school, and as a teen who loved video games, sci-fi (B5 and SG-1 represent!), and weird medical facts it called to me, so I got in deep. I first starting reading fanfic on eGroups back in 1998 (anyone rmb the faublood_fangroup?) and I got hooked, so I've followed all the big archives through all these years: Lore Training, The Digital Veldt, and of course The OmniPlexus Archive. My favorite archive has been the OmniPlexus Archive since it came online back in 2000. It's the best oerganized and designed site of the few "big archives" this fandom has, and the site owners seem to have been helpful and transparent. 

I've been going over some data from the OPA's almost five year history becos something was bothering me, and I've noticed a trend that worries me. So I wanted to present my findings here and see if anyone else has noticed this, and if anyone can offer any explanations. 

I gathered all this data myself based on category tags and publication dates on the OPA. If you find any trouble with my data please tell me! I'm trying to get better about my data work since I'm in school for it now. :) 

**FIGURE 1: NUMBER OF FICS SUBMITTED TO THE OPA OVER TIME**

A few spikes to note: 

  * Book Four was published on May 10th, 2001, which accounts for the first major spike (Apr - Jun 2001)
  * FF.net's NC-17 ban was in September 2002, which correlates to the second spike as ppl flocked to OPA to publish their smutfics (Jul - Sep 2002)
  * A lot of major entertainment news outlets picked up the news of the movie in development in early 2004, so there's an increase starting here too, that's kept up all year



As of December 12th, 2004, when I started compiling all this info, there were 448 fics hosted on the OPA. It's not the largest independent archive for the fandom (that's Lore Training), but according to site counters it's by far the most visited. 

**FIGURE 2: CUMULATIVE FIC CATEGORY BREAKDOWN**

**FIGURE 3: FIC CATEGORY BREAKDOWN OVER TIME**

**FIGURE 4: CUMULATIVE FIC RATING BREAKDOWN**

**FIGURE 5: FIC RATING BREAKDOWN OVER TIME**

Why am I sharing all this, you ask? Well as the fandom grows I think it's important that we have a place that remains a respectable, good representation of that fandom. I don't know what's going on at the OPA, but it seems like it's getting harder and harder to make it to the front page or even get accepted to the archive if your fic isn't porn, or at least shippy. This is one of our only places to point new fans to and say "here's where you can read some good, curated fanfic," and it gives off a bad impression. 

It would be one thing if all ships were better represented, too, but ships that used to be staples of FBI fic like Courtland/Rigby and Tawnie/Aaron are suddenly much less represented. I didn't make graphs for those stats, but if anyone wants to see them I can share! 

I just want to know if anyone else is noticing this trend, and feels worried for the future of the archive. 

Thanks for listening. 

* * *

  


  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-18 03:12 am UTC (link)  
  
OK. Deep breath.

You've done a lot of research here that deserves kudos, for sure. Work went into this, and I respect that. Now, that said: 

Your data presentation for the trends over time is problematic, and a bit manipulative. To most accurately represent any change in trends over time, you should present your data as percentages, not in line graphs like this. It would be more impactful to say "Genfic made for over 25% of all fic published to the archive in 2001, but only 5% in 2004, indicating a downward trend." 

That said, your charts are nice to look at and generally show us some really interesting information. 

I don't believe the rating trends are indicative of any bias or problem with the archive, or those that run it (remember, it's only a handful of UNPAID people doing this for the love of it, and they don't owe anyone anything). It's just something that we should expect to see as the fandom grows, and especially as there continues to be no real safe haven for hosting NC-17 fics outside of LJ, forums, and private websites after the ff.net ban. Fanfic, for all its possibilities, presents an opportunity for many to explore character relationships. Readers of all fic categories need to read what they like, support it, and make sure the authors feel appreciated enough to write more. 

I say this as the author of what has become a pretty monolithic genfic in this fandom, which some might argue is The Fic of this fandom: genfic is difficult. There's more of it in SF fandom in general, and there's a lot of speculation as to why that is. Some people make sexist arguments that it's because men (who make up the predominant demographic of SF) are less concerned with romance, but I disagree. I believe the SF genre is simply more amenable to genfic, and all the world building and plot development it sometimes requires. But it's hard to make that sort of commitment for a hobby, and making that commitment doesn't make the fic good, in and of itself. 

And, unlike romance and smut, it gets less attention. I feel humbled that Circuitous Dawn has such a big audience of loyal readers, because I've seen friends write genfics to crickets many times. Sometimes… you just want those comments, you want that validation. So you don't want to pour yourself into writing a long, involved, and exhausting genfic only to feel unappreciated. Why not write smut, at that point? It can be just as difficult to write good smut, and there's a lot more validation for your efforts there. 

And that's just considering the authors who want to write genfic and get discouraged. There are so many fans who love smut, want to read smut, want to write smut, and have an absolute ball doing it! Good for them. As far as I'm concerned, there's room for everyone, at the OPA and everywhere. 

That's my $.02 on the matter. 

As for the categories: hooray for the ladies being there in DEAD LAST place even after all this time. >:( Shame on us for that. It just motivates me to write even more femslash. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-18 03:20 am UTC (link)  
I really want to give you the benefit of the doubt, here, but I've read this post twice, come back to it, gone out for a walk, and then come back again, and it still reads like a hit piece even if I squint and look at it sideways. I've put years of work into the OPA, I pay for the OPA hosting fees, I put in the hours if something's not right, and I've lost a lot of sleep over the archive, the zines, the community signpost the OPA has become. 

If it was just me, I could probably take this. I'm telling myself "Jack, chill out, it's not worth it," and you know what? I feel that. It's not worth it. I'll just let this discussion run its course because I know what the community's about and what the archive is. I'll go play Halo with my girlfriend, who is even now telling me to get off the damn computer and come play Halo with her. Except, it's not just about me, is it? 

The OPA is a volunteer-run site. Now, I'm good at getting folks excited about a project, I'll admit that. I can bring the volunteers in and give them passwords and show them the lay of the land, all for the love of the fandom. And then I can trust them. I trust them to help me screen fics, update the site, analyze site data to build things like the front page lists. 

They're all putting in a lot of thankless work. The archive is built around a now well-established philosophy of quality and screening, and fics are subject to approval by that process. We screen fics that are submitted. We can screen no more. Though sometimes we do screen less - because there are a lot of fics, and only a small handful of volunteer staff. All of us adults with full time jobs, some of us with families. 

We're doing our best, but we can only pull from what is given. 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-12-18 03:23 am UTC (link)  
I think there's a conflict of interest in some of your screeners and beta readers, though. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-18 03:33 am UTC (link)  
I'm one of those beta readers, and do you wanna know something? I've seen the quality of fics coming through the submission queue recently, and it hasn't been great. It may surprise you to learn that the smut is some of the best written stuff that I see come through. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-18 03:40 pm UTC (link)  
I try to read as many of the fics as I can, myself. We have a two-out-of-three system for fics that are subject to rejection, so at least two people have to say "no" in order for it to be completely rejected. No one screener would ever be sole arbiter of whether or not a fic makes it through. 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-12-18 03:42 am UTC (link)  
I'll bet you'd never even dream of rejecting certain authors, though. Could you imagine if any of Hannibal's fics ever got denied? Never happen. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-18 03:47 pm UTC (link)  
The criteria for rejection is less nuanced than you seem to imagine. If spelling or grammar is exceptionally poor, if story structure is non-existent (as in, it's a stream-of-consciousness mess and reads like a shopping list), or if it violates the archive's content guidelines (which I don't believe some of you even know we _have_... 9_9), it's rejected and goes to the two-out-of-three system. If it passes, it's beta read and goes through a final drafting before it gets published. This process takes time. That's what a curated archive is. But it's rewarding, and it helps to maintain an archive the fandom can be proud of. 

In 2003 I had to reject maybe one fic in a dozen. Lately it's been more like one out of every three. We're looking at the law of diminishing returns coming into play soon, and if this is the thanks I get for helping out at the archive I wonder why I bother. 

  
  
  
**yayar00t**  
2004-12-18 03:48 am UTC (link)  
It really sounds like you hate the writers who submit to the archive. 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-12-18 03:50 am UTC (link)  
Not surprised. The OPA crowd is a big circle jerk. 

  
  
  
**yayar00t**  
2004-12-18 03:51 am UTC (link)  
That makes me sad. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-18 03:59 pm UTC (link)  
I think what Will means to say is that the bigger a fandom gets, the more unregulated content is produced. That content can be posted on any of the communities here on LJ, at Lore Training, or on the other big independent forums, but not at the OPA. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-18 04:03 pm UTC (link)  
Not sure that's what I was meaning to say, but okay. I'll say this is a good point. 

  
  
  
**xtwilight_faultx**  
2004-12-18 04:05 pm UTC (link)  
It would be interesting to see the statistics of fic that gets submitted vs what gets accepted, at the very least. Just to keep everyone honest. Surely you could arrange that, Jack? 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-18 04:09 pm UTC (link)  
N.O., no. 

When someone submits their fic to the OPA we agree not to distribute that material outside of the archive without their express consent. One of the lines of that agreement is: "If your fic is not accepted for inclusion in the Archive, the submission is deleted - we won't do anything else with it. If you wish to re-submit the fic for consideration after updates or modifications, it will need to be an all-new submission." It's a polite agreement, and I take it very seriously, and I wouldn't even want to share statistics based on that information. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-18 04:12 pm UTC (link)  
I don't even think we keep records anywhere, so there wouldn't be historical data to compare to. We don't keep records because this sort of thing hasn't come up before, because it's absolutely batshit and insulting, 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-18 04:18 am UTC (link)  
Of all the statistics here, it's the proliferation of NC-17 that is most concerning to me. I'm not a reader of anything above a PG-13 or a light R, myself. I don't view these characters that way, and I don't feel it's true to KTG's original story to put them in those situations. I can see how some might like it, though, so I steer clear. But I always saw the OPA as a place where all fic could exist equally, until recently. It's true: most of the fics that make the front page are either thematically dark or downright pornographic, lately, with the exception of a few mainstays. And let's not ignore the fact that like begets like. Up and coming authors will see which fics are popular, and they'll see that as what to emulate. Quality suffers as a result, possibly. 

All in all, I don't think it's the fault of the OPA and its wonderful volunteer staff. I respect them all immensely. I just think the lack of any other measuring stick for fandom taste is problematic as the community grows. 

  
  
  
**xtwilight_faultx**  
2004-12-18 04:20 pm UTC (link)  
Another such measuring stick may be in order, then. 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-12-18 04:21 am UTC (link)  
Hmmmm…. is that a subtle hint for **yhoriun_tree** to start his own archive? If it's not, it should be. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-18 04:24 pm UTC (link)  
My input here may be anathema to goodwill, considering how my name has been brought up, and I'm admittedly a little late to the party as I sat for so long debating whether to speak up at all. But I do want to say that I understand where both sides are coming from. Chilton in particular has made a fine point about imitation leading to oversaturation when it comes to certain brands of fanfic. 

However, Jack is also right to say that the OPA can only be held to account for so much. I myself am not part of the volunteer team at the archive, but I have it on good word that every volunteer takes the role quite seriously, and if my character testimony is good for anything, I don't believe any of them would stoop so low as to blacklist certain fic subjects or pairings. 

  
  
  
**xtwilight_faultx**  
2004-12-18 04:26 pm UTC (link)  
No one mentioned blacklisting………… 

Until you spoke up………….. 

  
  
  
**tattlefan**  
2004-12-18 04:26 am UTC (link)  
Everyone slow down, I'm trying to find a stopping point so I can post this on fandom_wank. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-18 04:27 pm UTC (link)  
Fuck off, Freddie. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-18 04:28 pm UTC (link)  
Will, _stop helping_. 

  
  
  
**argentinean20**  
2004-12-18 04:33 am UTC (link)  
The following ships have seen dramatic drops in representation on the OPA and in positive discussion on this community since **panopuply** started posting again and rejoined the fandom: 

Courtland/Rigby, Tawnie/Aaron, Tawnie/Courtland, Courtland/Twilight, Twilight/Spark, Pryor/Spark, Rigby/Pryor, Arie/Echoppe 

And the following ships have taken off in content and popularity: 

Aaron/Pryor, Pryor/Parrish, Parrish/Spark, Courtland/Pryor 

...like **crab_in_mittens** already said, it seems like a conflict of interest. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-18 04:34 pm UTC (link)  
And you have… statistics? Numbers? More charts, for fuck's sake? Anything to back this up? 

Does it even matter???? 

I don't know why everyone is dogpiling me, I've literally been reading my ass off for the last three months and I've gotten nothing out of it except this hostility. I'll just quit, and you'll see: the numbers will stay the same. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-18 04:38 pm UTC (link)  
I can vouch for Will, here: he's been doing nothing but thankless grunt work for the archive. It's not a cabal. _**Nothing's been blacklisted**_. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-18 04:40 pm UTC (link)  
I'm really uncomfortable with the way people seem to be bullying Will. Lay off, please - this comm is my happy place and we usually get along so well. :( 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2004-12-18 04:41 am UTC (link)  
Of course the Outer Square all comes to crawl up Will's ass. 

  
  
  
**yayar00t**  
2004-12-18 04:42 am UTC (link)  
LOL the WAHT…..? 

  
  
  
**argentinean20**  
2004-12-18 04:42 am UTC (link)  
That's what they call themselves. That whole circle jerk clique. 

  
  
  
**tattlefan**  
2004-12-18 04:44 am UTC (link)  
Post is up on fandom_wank! :) I'll be eager to see how this plays out! ;)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Part One of another one-two punch chapter that will continue in an AIM thread and (gasp!! something new!) a PRIVATE LJ Post. Hopefully updating again this weekend, if not before, with that. 
> 
> I'm experimenting a TINY bit with comment thread indentation here, just to denote individual threads. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who's reading, once again! And if anyone also wants to follow my ludicrousness over at tumblr, I'm mijlen there.

H. ( **antikythera** )  
@ 2004-12-23 at 01:32:51pm UTC

 **Current mood:** hungry  
**Current music:** Bach

**An Intimate Holiday Party Post [FBI Locked]**

If I am to understand my history correctly, around this time every year a Holiday Party Post normally goes up at **thefbi** in celebration of the season. And if I am to understand my current events, that's not the case this year on account of rising tensions and ongoing fueding within the community. 

A pity, that, as I was very much looking forward to that post. I do consider most of you friends, and as I sit back this evening with a glass of wine and my thoughts unassailed by everyday stresses, my thoughts turn to my friends. 

Feel free to join in. Normal party post rules apply. Happy holidays!

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-23 01:40 pm UTC (link)  
Amazing… I managed to catch this post between shifts at work!! (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ 

Okay, so first topic of discussion: what's everyone doing for the holidays?? 

I'm working today and tomorrow. But my parents get me this weekend - I'm flying out tomorrow night and that's not at all a stressful prospect /s I hate the airport here on the best days, but there's a lot of construction going on and on top of that it's Christmas. Boohoo. Wish me luck, everyone! 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-23 01:44 pm UTC (link)  
That's quite the unpleasant prospect, Beverly. Godspeed, and I hope the family time will at least be worth it. 

I, myself, am spending the holiday in relative solitude. I'll be hosting a small dinner party for friends on Sunday evening, but I have no close family at hand. Christmas is a holiday I don't tend to celebrate in the traditional way, though I do enjoy the ceremony and spectacle for what it is. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 01:49 pm UTC (link)  
*raises hand* Also alone, here. Family is scattered and we don't really talk, and i'll be the first to admit I live in the middle of nowhere and don't keep any friends that care enough to visit me. So I'm glad for this post! It makes me feel a little more connected. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-23 01:52 pm UTC (link)  
brb, I'm inviting you both to my parents house for Christmas. I'm imagining my mom's face now if I brought home not one, but two guys for Christmas… ROFL 

She does always cook too much, though. So it would even out. 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-23 01:54 pm UTC (link)  
Currently in the basement of my parents' house in Utica. I also have wine, but it's terrible grocery store brand wine my dad keeps in the bar down here for anyone who refuses to drink Jack Daniels. 

Christmas with my family is a circus, so I'm waiting until everyone is full of carbs and distracted by sports enough to calm down before venturing back upstairs. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 01:59 pm UTC (link)  
I'll take the Jack Daniels >.>

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-23 02:04 pm UTC (link)  
If only I'd had a modicum of foresight, Will, we could have simply arranged to meet in the middle (and in person) at last. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 02:09 pm UTC (link)  
Yeah, we need to talk about making that happen. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 02:10 pm UTC (link)  
I guess this is how everyone finds out, but: 1. I have a girlfriend, and 2. I'm spending Christmas with her!! It's a big step to take so soon, I know, but her brother is apparently an asshole homophobe so I'm showing up to run interference and be moral support. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 02:11 pm UTC (link)  
Alana!!! Congratulations!! (Is this the cute dressage girl you told me about?) 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 02:11 pm UTC (link)  
YES! :) 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-23 02:14 pm UTC (link)  
Congratulations, Alana! I'll raise this next glass to you and your lucky lady :) 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-23 02:14 pm UTC (link)  
OMG SQUEEEEEEE! Congrats! 

Her brother can eat a bag of dicks :P <3 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-23 02:15 pm UTC (link)  
Warmest congratulations, Alana. 

Glad tidings, indeed. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 02:16 pm UTC (link)  
Yeeessssss, congrats Alana! 

I'm working pretty much the entire holiday, so nothing to report there. I just want to bask in the glory of how gay we all are. (apologies to Chilton and Bev - pobody's nerfect!) FBI squad continues to further the homosexual agenda. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 02:17 pm UTC (link)  
Not to be pedantic, but that's the bisexual agenda for most of us here. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 02:17 pm UTC (link)  
Pobody's nerfect, including me. XD XD 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-12-23 02:19 pm UTC (link)  
Wait, I'm gay???? 

(congratulations Alana!) 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 02:21 pm UTC (link)  
Yes. 

What are you doing for Christmas? *waggles eyebrows* 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-12-23 02:26 pm UTC (link)  
I need to update my bio, then! 

I still live like two blocks from my family so I'm working all Christmas AND I get to go deal with that! But at least I get $$$$$ - holiday time and a half FTW. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-23 03:50 pm UTC (link)  
*kung fu flips in late to the party post* First of all: congratulations, Alana! I was really hoping that was going to work out for you. Glad you took the chance. 

Bella and I are getting the hell out of town and I can't WAIT!! We're splitting the time between our parents' houses before that, but we booked a cruise in the Carribean until January 3rd. 

I might… ask a certain question… on the beach on New Year's Eve. Yes, I'm nervous about it. No, I haven't completely decided and it will depend a lot on the mood of the whole trip and how things go. It's been three years, though, and… damn… we're ready to get married. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-23 03:55 pm UTC (link)  
Jack, this is absolutely fantastic news in many ways. I hope the mood works out and you can welcome to the New Year with a "yes." 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 04:17 pm UTC (link)  
You might say… he'll get to _ring_ in the year with a "yes." 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 04:21 pm UTC (link)  
WILL, BOOOOOOOOOOO. 

Good luck, Jack!!! 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 02:15 pm UTC (link)  
So… *spins around, lays down on the floor, kicks leg into the air dramatically, poses* StraightGate. 

Let's talk about StraightGate. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 02:18 pm UTC (link)  
It's so. Utterly. STUPID. 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2004-12-23 02:22 pm UTC (link)  
Wait, what? Everytime I turn around there's some new drama in the fandom, what is it this time? 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 02:25 pm UTC (link)  
Oh my god. Okay. Of course Freddie wrote it up on fandom_wank, but if you don't want to read all her editorializing, here's the short of it: all the Character Profiles over at Alpha Plexus updated on Monday, and now they magically include "Sexual Orientation" for the first time. And of COURSE, since pretty much no character confirms their sexuality in the text because _it doesn't matter to the text_ , everyone is listed as straight. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 02:27 pm UTC (link)  
Most of us have decided that we just don't care, because, as Alana said it's SO STUPID. But I'm still very curious to know who did this and why. 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-23 02:34 pm UTC (link)  
The site owners changed last year, I think, because the old owner fell out of the fandom. 

It's very silly. I really wish this whole "adult content" debate didn't have to move to the public eye at all, but it looks like it is. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 02:37 pm UTC (link)  
The way I see it, there are two battles in a larger fandom war. The war is the whole "adult content and decency" thing. Battle #1 is the anti-NC-17 purity police. Sorry, Chilton, but that's how I see that whole camp. I know you're part of it, but at least you're not being a dick about it like they are. Battle #2 is this weird, homophobic correlation being drawn between non-het ships and adult content. This Straightgate bullshit smacks of the latter. 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-23 02:44 pm UTC (link)  
*shrug* That's fair. I think this is over the line, for what it's worth. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-23 02:47 pm UTC (link)  
I was blissfully unaware of this particular incident until now, and that surprises me. Usually Will lets me know the latest goings-on, at the very least. 

I'm acquainted with two of that site's maintainers. Not to defame anyone, but they're both fairly suggestible. I wouldn't be surprised if this change were the product of an email campaign from the more vocal within the fandom. I'll try to reach out to them and explain how this may be a bridge too far. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 03:04 pm UTC (link)  
I've been trying my best to look the other way, because there's just _so much_ new bullshit every day. So no, this one I didn't feel was worth telling you about. 

Also, of _course_ you know the maintainers. Of course. 

  
  
  
**katzpyjamas**  
2004-12-23 02:34 pm UTC (link)  
Fic appreciation thread! Whatcha readin'?? Gimme recs!! I'll have a lot of time to read over the holiday weekend and I want to print stuff out now in preparation! 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 02:38 pm UTC (link)  
It's not like it's news to anyone, but Decimate is really, really, really good. 

Otherwise there's this lovely Tawnie/Echoppe AU that got posted last week. I really hope the author continues it, because it's a very unique idea. A lot of people have done wizarding world/magic user AUs, but this one is a little different because it's more medieval/blood magic, which really works with the concept of FBI. And yet, even with that it manages to be sweet. 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-23 02:46 pm UTC (link)  
That's a lovely fic so far, I agree! 

Circuitous Dawn is still my go-to, naturally. Also Half-free, one of my favorite canon divergence fics, is updating again. It reimagines the state of the Bio Plexus team if Twilight hadn't saved Courtland at the end of Book One. The author took an extended hiatus, but the story picked right back up and I'm quite excited. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 02:48 pm UTC (link)  
Yeeesssss, a moment in appreciation of Decimate. Based on the excerpt we got earlier, I never would have expected the "Sovereign" chapter to end the way it did. But oh my GOD, I yelled out loud when I figured out what was going on with the aviary and all the swords. Aaron run through by a thousand swords like Anthy Himemiya - _yes please_. 

Wait, god damnit, now that I'm writing this I'm thinking about it deeper and WAS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE A METAPHOR, TOO??? 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 02:56 pm UTC (link)  
Hannibal won't confirm this for me, but my take is that you're right. Those are phallic symbols and that is a penetrative metaphor. 

  
  
  
**jprice24**  
2004-12-23 02:58 pm UTC (link)  
*scared* Why a thousand. 

Poor Aaron. 

He'll never walk again. 

  
  
  
**antikythera**  
2004-12-23 03:01 pm UTC (link)  
I'm still not confirming anything, but admittedly I may have been overzealous, there. ;) 

Aaron's suffering is delicious, though, no matter the metaphor. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-23 04:09 pm UTC (link)  
I haven't been reading much that's not part of the queue, lately, sadly. The OPA keeps me busy. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 04:21 pm UTC (link)  
Jack it's so bad in there right now. What's going on? 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 04:28 pm UTC (link)  
More bad fics? That's nothing unusual from what I've heard. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 04:31 pm UTC (link)  
It's gotten unusual. The queue is slammed right now. There are 23 submissions waiting as I speak. And the thing is, almost all of them are either almost mockingly bad, or they're something else entirely. 

Like this one fic I just read through is about necrophilia. In no uncertain terms, this is a necrophilia fic. And yet, it doesn't violate any rules just by being that. It's extreme, and it's very uncomfortable to get through. And then there's this other fic that got submitted, totally different email address and different author, all about an elaborate character death revenge fantasy. Explicit, detailed, just a gorefest that was more than a little unsettling. Put me off eating for an hour or two, actually. 

And they're. All. Like. That. Lately. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 04:38 pm UTC (link)  
OMFG. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-23 04:39 pm UTC (link)  
It feels like an organized effort. I'm so sorry, Will. If you need to bow out, go ahead. If anyone asks why updates are so slow, I'll tell them the truth: the queue is being flooded. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 04:43 pm UTC (link)  
Thanks, but I feel like there's a target on my back no matter what. I can't help thinking I had something to do with this. And yeah, it definitely smacks of a log-jam effort on the OPA queue itself. 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-23 04:48 pm UTC (link)  
I want to look closer at IP addresses and emails and compare them to some of our new friends on thefbi, see if there's any correlation. I just haven't had time. 

I might pull you and Miriam into a chat about it later this week. 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-23 03:24 pm UTC (link)  
Anyone else see the latest Starlog? I still need to scan in this little article in there so I can make a post about it on the comm, but figured I'd mention it here first. Their editors made their "dream cast" for the FBI movie, and it's a trip. 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 03:30 pm UTC (link)  
Me! I get Starlog! Frankly I'm already sick of "dream cast lists" floating around everywhere, but to see my favorite magazine whiff it so hard feels a little like a personal slight. I mean, there are a couple of really good calls: Michelle Rodriguez would be a good Tawnie, and James Purefoy as Parrish is pretty inspired casting, but Hugh Laurie as Courtland? Julia Roberts as Rigby? Terrible choices. The audacity!! 

  
  
  
**courtlaaand**  
2004-12-23 03:45 pm UTC (link)  
0__o Come again? Hugh Laurie? I know my dream casting for Courtland isn't going to happen because no one knows who Richard Brooks is, but at least don't make him white. Come on. 

  
  
  
**yhoriun_tree**  
2004-12-23 03:51 pm UTC (link)  
Yeah, it's… really bad. It's like they just reached into a hat and pulled out people who've been in projects from popular TV and movies in the last month. They cast the little nerdy guy sidekick from National Treasure as Aaron. Weirdly enough, I think that's one of the better decisions. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 04:00 pm UTC (link)  
Oh, GOD no. D: D: D: 

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2004-12-23 04:04 pm UTC (link)  
Let's start a letter-writing campaign for Will to just play Aaron already. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2004-12-23 04:09 pm UTC (link)  
I'm very protective of the character. That's all. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being a lot simpler than I intended, but it's still a companion piece to Chapter 9.
> 
> If you've read my fics in the past, you know I have a fascination with music curation as a storytelling tool. So I've been trying to piece together 2004 fandom Will's music taste as subtly but as realistically as I can manage throughout this fic (there's a lot of Dad Rock in there). The Verve Pipe really fits in, imo. I'll be making a playlist, naturally.
> 
> Besides that, I love exploring what a happy, blissful, sort of naive Will might have going through his head. What a concept!

Will ( **panopuply** )  
@ 2004-12-25 at 10:01:10am UTC

 **Current mood:** euphoric  
**Current music:** "Kiss Me Idle" by The Verve Pipe

**On Christmas, on pining, on other things evergreen [PRIVATE]**

There's a certain age at which the whimsy of romantic interest feels immature, the concept of a "crush" or the weightless words "I like you" hold no merit, immaterial as a soap bubble. I've certainly been there. Romance was something I grew up to believe needed to be weighty, meaningful, intentional - that I could look into someone's eyes and see either the fifty-year bore of a life lived together, or nothing past the next morning. My time was everything. I couldn't waste my time with dating, with molding myself to someone I didn't fully understand or admire. My twenties were a series of brief and stormy relationships. Either I loved (I thought), or I lost. And I never thought there was room in my weighty, meaningful, _adult_ life for anything but the prospect of a proper relationship, something traditional and ordained by everything ever expected of me. And so, I never loved. There was never that proper relationship. It all passed me by while I was waiting for something _adult_ enough for what I felt my sensibilities had matured to.

But then, I've recently learned, there's a certain age at which that wheel turns over again. 

I'm feeling whimsical again; indeed, _romantic_ in a way I haven't felt in many years (and even then, the feelings may have been an affectation. I can't be sure with my younger self). It's 6:00 am on Christmas morning. I watched the sun come up over the snowy hill out my window while curled on the couch in front of a fire burning its last embers, hearing his voice, a grin splitting my face so that I had to force myself not to smile, simply to loosen those aching muscles. 

Eight hours, we talked. It sounds like the sort of thing I'd roll my eyes at a student writer for suggesting that two adults would do. It's teenage behavior, it's saccharine and overly sentimental. And yet, here I am, feeling sentimental (and overly so!). When he offered his phone number and asked that I give him a call to continue our conversation, I thought it would only be a half hour, maybe an hour, tops. 

And then I heard his voice, heard him say my name. 

Jesus…! I'm doing it again, I can't stop smiling like an absolute idiot. I just had to put my head down on my desk for a moment, to gather my wits. 

Even after we made plans for March (he'll be visiting for a weekend during Spring Break), the conversation just kept going. We asked about each others' families, our memories of Christmas. Our houses. My dogs. His dinner party. Work. Stories from college, stories from adulthood. Just stories. We met through fandom, sure, but fandom was maybe 10% of our entire conversation. 

I confessed to plumbing the depths of his journal for more photos, at the risk of sounding creepy, to which he just replied, "Oh! That is reassuring, as I've done quite the same. I couldn't resist." 

"Okay, but do you have mine saved on your computer? Do they have their own folder?" 

"Of course they do." 

"What's the folder called?" 

"Will." 

I may be paraphrasing some of that, but I can't stop thinking of the way he paused just a little before saying my name. I could hear a tiny smile before he said it. Every time he says my name it feels like a happy little jolt of electricity right up my spine. 

And yet with all those bright electric shocks jump-starting the happiness in my brain, I also have to acknowledge the darkness. It's something we've bonded over. The things I can't really discuss with my friends - certainly not my real life friends (acquaintances, truly, those), and not even Jack or Alana. We've shared deeper meditations on concepts the others only see superficially in stories like Decimate. A fascination with the macabre is something we have in common, and discuss regularly, finding the outlet for that in our writing - either separately, or together in RP scenarios that would never have seen the light of day in a public community. In fact, these fics currently glutting the OPA submission queue seemed engineered to test my patience, with subject matter that might otherwise be interesting to explore, but written with utter disregard for the emotional complexity of violence, debasement, the unmentionable, that makes for interesting stories. Hannibal doesn't judge me or moralize on the weird places my brain goes. He gives me a "yes, and…" while on we forge some genuinely creative paths. It's exhilarating, to indulge that side, to just get it out of my head and see it explode against the wall, messily sometimes, but usually satisfyingly. Beautifully, even. He's helping me take those dark impulses and turn them into something beautiful. Not what anyone would expect from one of the fandom's premier fluff writers. 

I can't say I didn't earn my title as a fluff writer, but every time I wrote those stories I was thinking about something like this, wondering blithely whether I'd ever experience it myself. This strange, immature, gossamer euphoria. I have so much capacity for bliss, and it lives side by side with the rotten and tainted stuff in me, and I wouldn't dream of being with anyone who didn't find both of those stores organically. 

It's like he just reached inside and pulled me out of myself, out of my own head and my own heart. 

I _can't_ be reading too much into this. I can't see how that's possible at this point. This isn't the way adult friends talk to each other. This is the best Christmas I've had in years. I don't feel alone at all. I'm meeting the work crew for Chinese food in town much later tonight, and I wonder if anyone will remark that I seem like I'm in a good mood. I feel like I'm in a good mood. 

Life's too short to eschew whimsy. This shit feels _great_. I like him. I have a crush on him. A small part of me still feels like I'm nowhere near good enough for him - I'm just a shrimpy, insecure guy with a useless degree and a tenuous teaching position who likes to be right on the internet and can write well when he's in the mood. And he's… _him_. So educated, so successful, _so handsome, jesus_ (and he calls me handsome - he just blurted it out like it was a fact, "you're very good-looking, after all…" dude _shut up_ , have you seen yourself?)! I think, any time now he'll come around and realize that. Another small part fears this is still unintentional and I'm interpreting things as flirting when they're absolutely not. But then he says things like "It's safe to say you've become a beacon of light in my life, Will," and I think _you don't talk that way about your friends._ Right? I like him. I have a crush on him. I'm a grown man, with these whimsical, fanciful, romantic feelings. My other friends would laugh at me, give me weird looks as they normally do. It's just someone on the internet. A stranger. Alana would question whether I'm projecting my own loneliness, my desire for human contact, onto Hannibal. 

I'm not going to tell Alana it's gone this far (it's gone this far, or I'm this fargone?). No one needs to know we talked to each other on the phone for 8 hours until dawn on Christmas morning. No one needs to know I'm feeling this lightness in my belly and in my feet as I move around, energized and determined to be better just because I like him. This is ours to know. And that's all that matters. 

I haven't even begun to consider the possibility of talking to him in person, being next to him, looking at his face. I guess I'll find out what all that's like in March. It's so soon, really. 

I plan to tell him how I feel, then. When we meet, once I can confirm he's a real person because that might actually be the biggest impossibility. If he were to miraculously show up here today for some reason, hell, I'd spill it all right now. 

The last thing I want to do is subject myself to the fics that are in my queue, but I feel like I do owe this fandom something right now. Yes, I'm upset about what's happening at the moment. The state of things. It's making me paranoid. I'm still especially freaked out by the fact that someone outside of our friends filters knows about the term "outer square" - I _told_ Bev I hated giving ourselves any sort of name! But without the fandom, I wouldn't have met him. 

I also kind of just want to write. 

Mostly, I want to go to sleep until about 4:00pm while his voice is so fresh in my mind. 

_I need to stop smiling_ , it actually _hurts_ at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, yeah, so I did actually go ahead and make [Will's FBI playlist discussed in Chapter 7](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/35u71vyhQuyFaHjThGt7Eq?si=ovEsr6FSQ5ej813-nm5ZHw).


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (leans way too close to the mic and whispers) It's analogous, baybeeee.

  
**WolfTrapped:** So I've been thinking.  
**DrLecter:** About?  
**WolfTrapped:** About the RP storyline we've got going.  
**DrLecter:** What are your thoughts, Will?  
**WolfTrapped:** It's really good. But I think that if we continue with canon adherence we're not going to get much out of Aaron yet. I just don't feel it in his character to really come into his own without another catalyzing event. It's probably our fault for starting post-Bypass. We didn't get the chance to build up the relationship over a couple years of tension and see all that tension explode after the first Plexus Crash.  
**WolfTrapped:** I like it, though! Don't get me wrong, this is a totally new way to look at the development of their relationship. But I think there needs to be another inflection point.  
**DrLecter:** What do you propose? I'm assuming by your manner of preamble that you've concocted an inflection point already.  
**WolfTrapped:** Only partially. I need your help, doctor. Aaron needs to do something desperate, possibly with the help of Pryor. We've already got his jealousy of Rigby established, much more than it ever was in the books. Where does that lead us?  
**DrLecter:** Aaron has to kill Rigby.  
**WolfTrapped:** YES. OMG.  
**WolfTrapped:** I can't believe you went right there, too. I love that we think so alike sometimes, I really do.  
**DrLecter:** Color me a bit surprised that you're the one to think that way. I've written my serial killer AUs and other sordid tales, but you are a fount of unpredictability.  
**WolfTrapped:** Maybe this is my version of a sordid tale. At least, my first one. :)  
**DrLecter:** How would he do it? Why would he do it? It can't only be jealousy, of course.  
**WolfTrapped:** Of course not. Aaron's motivations are primarily the sanctity of the game - the thing he's helped create, which he holds very dear, and his close friends. Moving into Book Four, and throughout Book Four, what threatens those two things at the same time?  
**DrLecter:** The revelation of the Constructors. And by proxy, the Cids.  
**WolfTrapped:** :)  
**DrLecter:** Are you pointing at the Rigby-as-Cid theory, Will?  
**WolfTrapped:** I am absolutely pointing at the Rigby as Cid theory. What if Rigby were implicated as a Cid once Garbot reveals the goal of the Constructors, and Aaron conspires to execute her?  
**WolfTrapped:** That's where I run out of ideas. That's where I need your help.  
**DrLecter:** Well, if Rigby is a Cid, it means that killing her outside of the game won't affect the damage she might be able to do. Any other rogue Constructor could jump into her player code, at that point.  
**WolfTrapped:** Right…  
**DrLecter:** So Aaron being able to kill her in-game, is crucial.  
**WolfTrapped:** What if he used Chrysalis?  
**DrLecter:** Intriguing.  
**WolfTrapped:** Chrysalis, by definition, is kept secret from the Constructors. Pryor would have to teach him the language, which in itself would be an intense bonding experience since it's so tactile and sensory.  
**DrLecter:** It's symphonic. We could draw parallels with teaching Aaron to play an instrument. Do you play any instruments, Will?  
**WolfTrapped:** A bit of guitar. Not enough. This seems more like piano, or the organ, though.  
**DrLecter:** Indeed. If Pryor were to teach Aaron Chrysalis to allow him remote control of the game client, how would Aaron then fulfill his goal?  
**WolfTrapped:** He'd use Parrish. Naturally, he'd use Parrish! The NPC he created, the NPC designed entirely to execute or disarm other players! This is really good. Thank you! This is exactly why I wanted to hear your ideas!  
**DrLecter:** I'm considering the deeper emotional implications of Pryor sharing Chrysalis with Aaron. It's his ace in the hole up until the final act of Book Four, and Tawnie only knows about it because she was there at its inception. Pryor doesn't want to play all his cards, his skill as an engineer being one of them. But Pryor is at ease with Aaron at this point, and he also sees the potential in Aaron to bend his scruples in the name of a greater good.  
**WolfTrapped:** Or not the greater good. Considering what Chrysalis was used for previously.  
**DrLecter:** Precisely. It's always been interesting to me that every major character - Rigby, Courtland, Tawnie, Pryor, and Echoppe - came to the ChaoTech project with moral or criminal burdens attached to their professional careers, but the side characters such as Aaron, Shana, or Yong Bin don't get the same thematic distinction.  
**WolfTrapped:** I always sort of assumed they had their criminal pasts, but they weren't central to the plot and so weren't mentioned. I'm almost 100% sure we're supposed to assume Yong Bin has been to prison before. I like to believe he was a thief to survive.  
**DrLecter:** Perhaps. But Aaron is more ambiguous, isn't he?  
**WolfTrapped:** Digital crime seems likely. He would definitely be a grey hat hacker, and I swear he mentions it once in passing. Hacking, that is. Not specifically for personal gain. Now I'm not sure. I'd have to check for that reference. Grey is one of his character themes, after all. His eyes, his clothes most of the time. The mist in his crash death flashback. There are a lot of references to grey with him, so even though we don't get any explicit confirmation, I think he hasn't been 100% "good." Even if he's obviously, textually scared to break the law.  
**DrLecter:** And Pryor came to ChaoTech having used morally grey tactics in the non-digital space. Even when his methods didn't involve causing someone's physical death, he ruined lives under the auspices of an organized plan he could never talk about. He's kept Garbot's secrets for at least a decade. and Garbot knows everything that could put him in prison. Except Chrysalis.  
**DrLecter:** So let's imagine this turn in the composition of our narrative. Pryor chooses to share the only bargaining chip he has against the Constructors: a hack of the game itself. And he shares it with Aaron, who is not only motivated deeply to protect the game, but also specializes in hacking.  
**WolfTrapped:** That trust runs DEEP.  
**DrLecter:** That trust is informed by love. It could only be. It's Pryor laying his own vulnerability and paranoia bare.  
**WolfTrapped:** GOD I wish this would have happened in Book Four!  
**DrLecter:** That's the beauty of writing our own version of events, isn't it?  
**WolfTrapped:** Absolutely. To be clear, I don't wish Rigby would have died in the book. I like the ambiguity of her identity as a possible-Constructer. Making her a Cid would've overshadowed the more sinister theme of Garbot's gambit. But this, as a catalyzing event, is really good.  
**WolfTrapped:** There's so much possibility here.  
**DrLecter:** For character exploration, and for deepening their intimacy, yes.  
**WolfTrapped:** Well, we've established in our RP that they've been intimate since Ochwelian. We time-skipped past it, sure, but I thought that was established.  
**DrLecter:** Let's define intimate.  
**WolfTrapped:** We've established that they've been fucking since Ochwelian. 9_9  
**DrLecter:** Do you agree that some barriers to intimacy still exist between them that might break down, given the proper depth of understanding one another, seeing one another?  
**WolfTrapped:** Sure. But until we actually, you know… RP anything like that, I won't have a frame of reference.  
**WolfTrapped:** Sorry I'm taking so long to ease into it. Thanks for being patient with me, there.  
**DrLecter:** Not at all a worry, and no need to apologize. I want you to be certain. I'll be prepared to follow when you're ready to lead.  
**DrLecter:** However, I hope you don't mind discussing those aspects. It might help to plan where we want things to go once the catalyst is introduced.  
**WolfTrapped:** Go for it.  
**WolfTrapped:** Mostly I just need to psych myself up. Since I don't write smut, I want to be sure I've got the right feel for the characters. I don't want to embarrass myself.  
**DrLecter:** With me, Will, you don't have to worry about embarrassing yourself. I assure you.  
**WolfTrapped:** Thanks.  
**DrLecter:** I wouldn't expect Aaron to be a very open and communicative partner. Not sexually, at least.  
**WolfTrapped:** Not at all, actually. He's the sort to go on a date, notice something that bugs him or get hung up on a worry, never discuss it with the other person, and then assume that's how it's going to be forever. That just seems to be how he is.  
**DrLecter:** That would be magnified in the bedroom, I could imagine.  
**WolfTrapped:** I could see him using someone like Pryor, in ways. Pryor has all this experience, all this perspective, and Aaron's been very sheltered and boring everywhere but in his own mind. So he's probably hiding behind a few layers here. Layer 1: He feels like any minute, Pryor's going to realize he's not good enough for him, so he's guarded. 2. Pryor is almost a fantasy-level of what Aaron considers "out of his league," so everything they do together still feels a little unreal. And 3. He's still scared of him. Pryor has killed people. It scares Aaron.  
**WolfTrapped:** I don't imagine they talk much, in the early days of the relationship. Even after that first kiss scene (omg it's been a month… wow) I figure Aaron kind of avoided him until Ochwelian.  
**DrLecter:** Is there a thrill there, do you imagine? The danger inherent in exposing himself to a murderer, making himself vulnerable, sleeping next to him?  
**WolfTrapped:** There must be. He's waking up to his own moral greyness, at least the darker shades of it. If we imagine that Pryor represents danger and moral ambiguity for him, then step one is desiring danger, and the step after that is deriving pleasure from danger. How he copes with that conflict in himself has the potential to either drive him away from Pryor, or closer to him.  
**DrLecter:** Is sex a motivating factor for Aaron, in this relationship?  
**WolfTrapped:** I would say it is, after he's gotten a taste for it.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm gonna turn that question back to you. Is sex a motivating factor for Pryor?  
**DrLecter:** Undoubtedly. He's a sexually framed character.  
**DrLecter:** It's not chief among his concerns, mind you. I think he genuinely sees Aaron as someone he can confide in and understand, but I don't believe the same intensity would exist if there were not a sexual hunger there.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm intrigued. How is he a sexually framed character?  
**DrLecter:** His demeanor is incisive, almost penetrative. He's seductive, and quietly dominant. He gets in people's heads, or he gets into places he's not supposed to be (literally and figuratively). There are far too many Pryor scenes you could frame as involving a seduction, a penetration, a climax, and an afterglow (or, in the case of very specifically Courtland, there is nothing but a tease suffused, with the seduction rarely being successful).  
**WolfTrapped:** WTF I'd never even noticed this.  
**WolfTrapped:** You one-upping me in the literary analysis department is a bit humbling.  
**DrLecter:** It's definitely an uncomfortable analogy to present, as not every scene is palatable when viewed through that lens. It's also phallocentric in a way that doesn't seem to be KTG's symbolic intention. But it's never about the people or the situation Pryor's interacting with; it's just how he navigates things as a character. And there are obvious exceptions.  
**WolfTrapped:** You mentioned phallocentric and all I can think of now is: Aaron definitely bottoms. At least at first.  
**DrLecter:** It would be interesting to explore Aaron's journey to flipping that paradigm on its back.  
**WolfTrapped:** Literally. Aaron penetrates the game, Aaron kills Rigby, Aaron joins Pryor as an equal… and finds a confidence motivated by communion with his darker urges.  
**DrLecter:** Which translates to Aaron penetrating Pryor?  
**WolfTrapped:** It translates to Aaron dominating Pryor, or at least trying to. Whether or not it involves that, well. It's up to us.  
**DrLecter:** Your Aaron is a person who craves control, but doesn't know how to seize it.  
**WolfTrapped:** That's it. He needs that catalyzing action to really understand this isn't just a one-way relationship, he's not just there for Pryor's observation and amusement, to be in his service.  
**WolfTrapped:** It's not like he resents the service part, he just craves moving past it. Like, he would give amazing head and would be excited to do it. I can't imagine it any other way.  
**DrLecter:** I can imagine the act of fellatio would lend him a sense of security. The scales of power would be tilted in his favor, even though his fear of Pryor lingers.  
**WolfTrapped:** Nothing like knowing you could bite someone's dick off to even the playing field, if it came to that.  
**DrLecter:** Speaking from experience?  
**WolfTrapped:** I've never sucked the dick of someone I was inherently scared of, no.  
**WolfTrapped:** But the biting thing… it has crossed my mind once or twice.  
**WolfTrapped:** You?  
**DrLecter:** I'm very particular about my partners.  
**WolfTrapped:** That's the opposite of an answer to the question.  
**DrLecter:** I don't believe I truly established a clear question. I have to admit I was needling you.  
**WolfTrapped:** Are we at that step in our friendship? Spelunking in each other's sexual histories for fun?  
**DrLecter:** That depends: is it, in fact, fun?  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm a few fingers of whiskey into my night and having a ball over here, personally.  
**DrLecter:** Given your phrasing, there is an obvious direction I could take the spelunking expedition from there, but I'll refrain.  
**WolfTrapped:** Well, now I'm curious. Obviously you're referring to "fingers," here, but what would the context be?  
**DrLecter:** Intensely personal and specific to masturbatory habits. Again, though, I'll refrain.  
**WolfTrapped:** Too late to refrain now.  
**DrLecter:** Are you offering an answer?  
**WolfTrapped:** Maybe it wouldn't be prudent, but I'm a little bit drunk right now. And I kind of want to channel my slutty side.  
**DrLecter:** That's a side of you I hadn't anticipated.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm a fount of unpredictability, like you said earlier, it turns out. And if the implied question is still on the table: three. Last time they were involved, at least.  
**DrLecter:** Interesting.  
**WolfTrapped:** Oh no. I'm making a fool of myself here, aren't I?  
**WolfTrapped:** I should log off when I get drunk. >_<  
**DrLecter:** Or perhaps I should request that you take a drink or two before we RP. The whiskey has loosened your tongue, and might help take the edge off your anxiety over the prospect.  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm a little mortified.  
**DrLecter:** The mortification stems from having your behavior perceived, perhaps judged. To move past the mortification, then, it's important to ask yourself why you behaved like that in the first place?  
**DrLecter:** This is not an indictment, mind - I simply want to help you understand there's nothing to be mortified over. Not in my company.  
**WolfTrapped:** I guess talking about fictional characters having sex made me start thinking of myself in that way, so I was ready to tap that keg as soon as you asked.  
**DrLecter:** I apologize for goading you.  
**WolfTrapped:** You hardly goaded me. It was harmless.  
**DrLecter:** So was your answer.  
**DrLecter:** See? There's nothing to be mortified over.  
**WolfTrapped:** I guess so.  
**WolfTrapped:** I do feel like you owe me an embarrassing fact now, though.  
**DrLecter:** I don't agree that it was embarrassing, but regardless: would you prefer a fact that's specific to masturbation?  
**WolfTrapped:** Quid pro quo, doctor.  
**DrLecter:** No :) :) :)  
**WolfTrapped:** ARE YOU KIDDING ME ALSDAJSDJDKDAL;asd  
**WolfTrapped:** OMG  
**WolfTrapped:** I'm going to bed.  
**DrLecter:** Are you going directly to bed, Will, or shall you be doing anything else first?  
**WolfTrapped:** SHUT UP OMG  
**WolfTrapped:** YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT.  
**DrLecter:** Good night :)  
**DrLecter:** Sleep well.  
**WolfTrapped:** Auuuuggghhhh  
**WolfTrapped:** You too.  
**WolfTrapped:** Good night.  


* * *

Chilton ( **yhoriun_tree** ) wrote in **thefbi**  
@ 2005-01-01 at 12:18:38pm UTC

 **Current mood:** nervous  
**Current music:** Ocean Avenue by Yellowcard

**[Announcement] Yhoriun Hollow is now open and needs submissions!**

Happy New Year, everyone! I've been keeping a lid on the following announcement for a couple of weeks now as all the t's were crossed and i's were dotted. I'm terrible at keeping secrets, too, so this has been difficult. But thanks to the efforts of some wonderful folks who convinced me to do this in the first place, and then helped me get up to speed and comfortable with the idea of being a webmaster, I'm ready!

I'm very excited to reveal that Yhoriun-Hollow.com is now open! Yhoriun Hollow is a community-curated fanfic and fanart archive dedicated to genfic and all ages content. 

Here's how it will work: the site will accept open submissions, but will also be curating content from other sources, chiefly LJ and message boards. You can apply at the site forum to become a community curator. Submission nominations will be decided by a yea/nea vote among the curators. We will reach out to the author/artist if they have not explicitly included an archival approval in their header, and we will not archive any fic or art that has not been approved for archival. 

Fanart and fanfic at Yhoriun Hollow must adhere to these guidelines: 

  * Ratings G - PG-13
  * Gen is the primary focus of the archive, but some plot-driven ship content may be accepted
  * No slash content



This is still only the grand opening, so the archive is very small and humble right now, but I hope to see it grow as a resource for the discerning FBI fan community. 

I'll see you there! 

* * *

  
  
  
**plexusest**  
2005-01-01 01:37 pm UTC (link)  
  
Chilton, _please_ answer me on AIM. 

  
  
  
**crab_in_mittens**  
2005-01-01 02:08 pm UTC (link)  
Happy New Year! Yay, it's real! Thank you, Chilton, for your hard work on this. I'm off to get my application in. 

  
  
  
**panopuply**  
2005-01-01 02:13 pm UTC (link)  
_**OH.**_

I _**see**_. 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2005-01-01 02:31 pm UTC (link)  
Okay, I can't be the only one who's wondering where Freddie is.

  
  
  
**tattlefan**  
2005-01-01 02:46 pm UTC (link)  
Freddie is still too hung over for this. 

  
  
  
**meta1_knuckles**  
2005-01-01 02:51 pm UTC (link)  
I'm too _sober_ for this. 


End file.
